Bird Brothers
by hallescomet97
Summary: When everything in the Warblers' world is crashing down around them they know they only have one place to turn to. Only one person that can help them through the hell caused by 'Commander Clarington'. One person that can help them heal. Big Brother Bird. I Don't Own Glee. Dedicated to the girl who inspired this story. My muse, somewhat writing partner, and good friend: Eraman
1. Big Brother is BACK!

Wes was furious as he stormed down the halls of Dalton. How DARE that monster defile his brothers in this way! STEROIDS?! What was the boy thinking?! This was TOO MUCH! Sure, last year he had been mad at Sebastian for the blackmail and the slushie, but THIS was a whole other LEVEL of anger. Sebastian hadn't gotten any of the other boys involved in his schemes and he'd since apologized and sworn to have changed. Hunter was the opposite. He'd roped in and done harm to all of Wes's little bird brothers, and had yet to show the slightest remorse. Wes was NOT going to let that fly.

With the rage for Hunter, he felt also a deep disappointment for his brothers. They had given into the boy. They had let themselves be used. They had went along with this plan. The Warblers name was forever tarnished, and the boys had ruined their own lives with these mistakes. He honestly didn't know how he'd be able to even look at them anymore. He would try, but it would be hard. Most likely, he'd simply make his rant and storm out again. These boys would have to do A LOT of work to regain his respect.

As he got to the doors of Warbler hall, he paused, frowning at the commotion inside. He put his ear to the door and listened.

"YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE MAGGOT!" Came an unfamiliar angry voice. Must have been Hunter, Wes instantly reasoned. "You DARE try to tell ME what to do!? I am the CAPTAIN of this sorry excuse for a Show Choir! I call the shots here! If you don't like it, well then too freaking bad! You should have LEFT with that other spineless fatso BEFORE you took the needle! You...SHUT UP AND STOP CRYING!"

"Hunt...PLEASE...let him go." A shaking voice pleaded. Thad, Wes recognized. "He...He didn't mean it. Please, he's only a freshmen. He didn't know any better. Please...Just...Just put him down and take a breath. You're roid raging again and..."

"QUIET!" Hunter yelled. "He knew EXACTLY what he was saying, didn't you Lincoln?!"

There was a whimper, presumably from Lincoln. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me"

"Hunt. The kid said he was sorry." Another voice reasoned. David. Wes would know his best friend's voice anywhere. "He's scared enough. Just let it go..."

"NO!" Hunter snapped. "I am in charge here! I TOLD you all to keep your traps shut! I WARNED YOU what would happen if you told. And yet THIS little pea-brained imbecile decides to suggest we CONFESS?! NO! The plan is so simple, a MONKEY could do it! You morons only have ONE job: KEEP YOUR TRAPS SHUT! Let ME do all the talking, and if you have to talk, you stick to the script of what I tell you to say!" He growled "Let THIS be an example of what I do with TRAITORS!"

"NO!" Someone cried. Wes didn't have time to name the yell before there was loud crash and a scream that sounded like it had come from Lincoln.

Wes's heart leaped in his chest as he whipped the doors open. The scene before him was horrific.

A small boy, whom he assumed was the freshman Lincoln, lay among the shattered remains of a coffee table, bruised, and bloody and crying in fear and pain. He was being shielded by a worried looking David. Jeff and Nick were both huddled in the corner, guarding a small group of cowering younger boys, though the couple looked frightened themselves. Hunter was yelling and raging frighteningly, violently flipping a table and throwing a chair. Sebastian pulled Thad out of the way as the chair soared right through where the petrified boy had been standing. He made a move to go stop Hunter and protect his friends, but Thad held him back, quietly begging Sebastian not to be an idiot and put himself in Hunter's line of fire. It was dangerous.

Wes was frozen in the doorway. This was not something that was supposed to happen at Dalton, in the Warblers. Boys were not supposed to be afraid of being in this room. Boys should be happy. Feel safe. Feel like they belonged and were loved and cared for. The younger students should feel they had someone to trust. Someone to turn to if times went bad. Not this. Never this. Fear. Fear was not supposed to exist at Dalton Academy. It was NOT!

Jeff had pulled one of the shaking freshmen into his arms and was rocking him softly, seemingly singing to try to calm the boy down. The little boy looked up and saw Wes. His eyes were a piercing amber color in his fear. It was hauntingly similar to the way Blaine's eyes had once stared at him in the night after he'd dream about the Sadie Hawkins from hell. The eyes begged for Wes to save him. To save them. Wes didn't know the poor child's name, but the boy seemed to recognize him from somewhere. The eyes flitted to a picture on the wall. A picture of Wes. The frame was engraved with three B's, an acronym for the nickname his baby Warblers had long ago given him. The little boy's eyes again locked on him and he spoke, frightened yet clearly and loudly for all to hear, the words Wes knew so well. The words Jeff and Nick and Thad and David had likely taught them. "Big Brother I need you."

THAT was the last straw. He stormed into the room and went straight to Hunter. The room was dead silent except for Hunter's ranting and raving. All of the boys were staring at him with shock, hope, and wonder. Nick put a hand to his mouth to muffle a sort of choked sob. Jeff pinched himself, needing to be sure this wasn't some sort of wishful dream or hallucination. Seb stood stalk still, afraid, until Wes gave him a small nod on the way past, relaxing him. Thad clung to Sebastian, muttering prayers of thanks under his breath. David beamed at his old friend and very comically saluted him before kneeling down to tend to Lincoln.

Hunter had not noticed the former head of council's presence in the room. He didn't until it was too late.

"HEY!" Wes yelled. "You the ASSHOLE who's been messing with MY BOYS!?"

Hunter whipped around, eyes feral. "YOUR BOYS?! No! I'M the Captain of this choir! This bunch of IDJITS belong to ME! Who the HELL are you?!"

Wes growled as he advanced on Hunter. "My name is Weston Jonathan Montgomery-Hughes. I was a head of Warbler Council before you ever even set foot in Ohio. I was president of Student Council from my freshman year until graduation. I was Captain of the Martial Arts team, Debate team, Archery and Riflery club, Chemistry club, Scholastic Decathlon team, and the Fencing team. I was top of my class every year and graduated as Valedictorian." He point to the picture on the wall. "The three B's on that frame stand for a title that I hold as the HIGHEST honor I received in my years at Dalton. A nickname awarded to me by my fellow Warblers." He stared Hunter down, eyes near black in rage. "I am Big Brother Bird. YOU have hurt my fledgling." He was close enough to be almost literally chest to chest with Hunter. "So...to answer your question...I am your worst nightmare!"

Hunter's eyes flashed in fear for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by fury. He let out a near primal cry and swung. There was a solid crack as he caught Wes in the jaw.

The other warblers gasped in horror. Hunter had just hit Wes! Some feared for Wes's safety now. Those who knew Wes, however, feared for Hunter's.

Wes had stumbled back slightly. Cautiously, he brought a hand to his now bleeding lip. He seemed to ponder the red liquid on his fingers, before smiling wickedly and staring Hunter dead in the eye. "You probably shouldn't have done that..."

There was a cheer behind him. Cries of "YOU GO WES!" and "TAKE HIM DOWN!" rang through the hall.

Hunter roared "SHUT UP!" and the hall instantly quieted in fear.

"No." Wes said, standing up to his full intimidating stature. "You boys can cheer as loud as you want. Warblers is a SAFE place. Don't let this bully stop you." He glared down at Hunter. "He is NOT a true Warbler."

Hunter growled as he ran forward, intent on decking Wes again. His fist flew towards Wes's jaw once more, intending to break it this time.

However, this time Wes caught the blow in his hand. With a fluid motion, he yanked a startled Hunter around and pinned him, wrist between shoulder blades, bringing the boy to his knees. He chuckled darkly. "TOLD you!" He whispered for only Hunter to hear, "You REALLY shouldn't have done that!"

Hunter squirmed about and somehow managed to get away. He scurried to his feet and got in a fighting stance. "I'm not afraid of you, you little..."

"EARMUFFS!" Sebastian cried over him. The older boys quickly covered the younger boy's ears. Some boys shielded each other or themselves. Hunter had a rather colorful vocabulary to start with, but when he was raging or fighting, he REALLY let loose some bad words. Words that the littlest Warblers had no reason to be exposed to.

Wes nodded to Sebastian quickly in thanks before returning his attention to Hunter. "You're right." He purred, "You shouldn't be afraid of ME. I'm just a person. No...what you should afraid of is what I'm going to DO to you..."

"SHUT UP!" Hunter shrieked and threw another punch.

Wes smirked as he dodged. That wasn't even close. He was throwing the boy off-balance. "You should be." He said simply, "I've taken down A LOT bigger boys than you before. A lot stronger too. And CERTAINLY much SMARTER!" He suddenly threw his leg out and swept Hunter's feet out from under him. The boy went crashing to the floor.

Hunter grunted in pain. He looked up to see Wes towering over him, staring down with eyes full of hate, anger, and disgust.

"Run." Wes said simply, "Leave." There was an unspoken 'before I change my mind.'

Hunt stood up brushing himself off and glaring as he back up slowly for the door. "This isn't over!" He growled, "NOT by a long shot!"

"GO!" Wes screamed at him, "NOW!"

Hunter jumped and hurried out the door. It slammed shut loudly behind him.

Wes slowly started to catch his breath, closing his eyes as he breathed to calm and center himself. His eyes shot open suddenly in surprise as he felt a small weight crash into him and wrap itself around his waist. He looked down to see the little amber eyed boy staring up at him with a bright toothy smile.

"You're him!" the boy whispered, "You're THE Wes! You're Big Brother Bird!" His eyes were alight as if he were a six-year-old meeting Superman.

Wes smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair. "Sure am." He looked up at the sound of a sob near by.

Nick was walking towards him shakily, tears streaming, "Wes...you're here. You're really here."

Wes nodded. "Ya. I'm back." He sighed and opened his arms, "Come here Kiwi."

Nick choked and ran forward, burrowing himself into Wes's embrace. He was shaking as he cried in relief.

Wes held him and rocked him softly, trying in vain to soothe his cries. It was obvious to him now that his little Warblers had not given into Hunter willingly. They had been forced. Attacked, threatened, blackmailed, and god knows what else. His poor fledglings were frightened and had been for far to long. The realization hit Wes like a freight train and made his stomach flip nauseously. He held tighter to his quivering baby bird. "It's ok now Nick. I'm here now. You guys are gonna be alright. I won't let that monster touch you again."

Nick nodded into his shirt. "Missed you Wessie..."

Wes gulped. "I know Kiwi. I know." It startled him how similar this moment was to the one when Nick had earned his nickname. The boy had trembled in his arms this same way. So scared and small and helpless. It was no wonder Wes had called Nick by the name of the small, fluffy, flightless New Zealand bird.

Jeff cautiously approached Wes, blinking in disbelief. His face showed wonder and confusion. This had to be some sort of dream. Timidly, he raised a finger and poked Wes's cheek. He jumped back in surprise as it actually made contact with something. After a second, it hit him what this meant. He wasn't dreaming. Wes was really there! "BB!" He shrieked and tackle hugged Wes from the side.

Wes laughed and caught Jeff with one arm the way he knew so well. He pulled him closer and held him up, smiling as the squirrelly blonde nuzzled into his neck. "Hey there Jeffie! How is my little Cuckoo-bird?"

Jeff beamed at Wes. "I wasn't ok before, but everything is all better now that you're here!"

Wes smiled and nodded. "That's Awes..." He stopped as he looked down, shocked at what he saw.

Jeff's ankle was wrapped in a bright blue and white support bandage and brace. The kind Wes's uncle wore sometimes after he'd broken his leg and rolled his ankle at work when Wes was 5. The fact that Jeff, HIS blonde baby brother, was wearing one was NOT ok.

He gulped. "Jeff..." Wes said softly, "How long have you had that?"

Jeff stiffened slightly. "Beginning of the year..." He mumbled

"Why?" Wes sighed. He had a feeling he knew the answer.

"I...I got hurt during Warblers." Jeff said timidly, "It's all healed now but...it still hurts sometimes."

"Hunter?" Wes questioned quietly.

Jeff nodded. "Hunter."

Wes felt his blood boil. He put Jeff down gently, the blonde quickly curling into Nick's waiting arms. Wes walked to the center of the room and looked around. All of these boys had been victims of Hunter's tyranny. All his Warblers had clipped and broken wings. This was wrong. So wrong. Hunter shouldn't be able to get away with this. He WOULDN'T!

Wes's attention was drawn by a whimper of pain behind him. He turned to see the freshman Hunter had just attacked still laying among the ruins of the coffee table. David was attempting to tend to him, but the boy was obviously still in pain and scared.

Wes smiled sadly at the boy as he knelt beside him. "Hi. You're Lincoln, right?"

The boy looked up at him and nodded, his big baby blue eyes wide and welling up with tears.

Wes smiled and brushed away Lincoln's tears softly with his thumb. "Well, I'm Wes. My friend's here call me..."

"Big Brother Bird." Lincoln said softly, "I know. The others tell us all about you. You were the biggest, bravest, brightest Warbler of them all. You're a hero." He smiled softly. "You're MY hero."

Wes grinned and ran a hand through the kid's hair. "Well Lincoln, I happen to think what YOU did today was very heroic too."

Lincoln's eyes went wide. "Really? How? I got beat up!"

Wes nodded."I see that. THAT'S why you're a hero. You knew the risk of standing up to Hunter, but you did it anyway. THAT takes real courage."

Lincoln beamed. "Thank you!" He tried to move, but grimaced and whimpered again in pain.

Wes frowned and looked the boy over. Hunter had really done a number on him. "Where does it hurt most buddy?"

Lincoln groaned. "All over..."

David move forward and took one of the boy's hands. He sighed. "He's got a bunch of cuts and bruises all over him. The table wasn't glass so we don't have to worry about stray shards, but there's a lot of stray splinters and slivers. I think he might have a few of those wedged in there."

Lincoln whimpered, "You're gonna have to pull them all, aren't you?"

Wes smiled sadly. "Better than leaving them in buddy."

"Here." Came a voice from behind. Wes turned to see Sebastian pulling a roll of duct tape out of his backpack. "We can use this."

David's eyebrows went up and together. "How is THAT going to help?"

Seb went over and knelt by the boy. "I'll show you." He smiled warmly at Lincoln, "Hand please?"

Lincoln sniffed and put his hand, palm up, in Sebastian's lap.

Seb ripped off a piece of duct tape and placed it over the boy's hand. Over all the splinters. He nodded to Lincoln. "On three, I'll pull it off and it'll take all the wood at once, ok?"

Lincoln nodded mutely.

Seb smiled softly. "One...two...Three." He pulled the tape off like a band-aid.

Lincoln yelped slightly, but otherwise seemed ok.

Sebastian flipped over the tape to show all of the little splinters and slivers stuck to it. "See? All done." He balled it up and chucked it into a waste basket "Trick my dad taught me when I was little." He handed the roll to David, "Here. You do it."

David nodded, " Thanks Bas." He pulled off a piece and went to work removing the slivers from Lincoln's skin.

Seb slowly ghosted his hand over Lincoln's body, checking him over for other injuries. "Tell me if anything REALLY hurts bad, ok?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yes Sebastian." He was quiet except for yipping a little each time David removed more splinters.

Wes frowned. This all seemed far too...choreographed. Like it was a routine the boys were use to carrying out. "Does this sort of thing happen often?"

"Unfortunately...ya. It's sort of a regular thing." Seb sighed as he continued to check Lincoln over. "We've gotten pretty good at dealing with what Hunter leaves in his war path. If we can't...well, either Commander Clarington gives us an excuse or we make one up ourselves." He stopped as Lincoln yelped loudly in pain when Sebastian put pressure on his wrist. Seb gently lifted the injured appendage to examine it closer. "Well THAT'S a sprain." He looked back over his shoulder, "Thad..."

"First aid kit. I know. I'll go get it." Thad nodded and dashed from the room.

"GRAB SOME ICE TOO!" Seb called after him.

"GOT IT!" Thad responded.

"THANK YOU!" Seb yelled back. He turned back and smiled softly at Lincoln, gently reaching up to brush away a tear from the boy's face with his knuckle, "It's ok Linc. We got you. Wes is right. You were SO brave. I'm proud of you kid."

David nodded. "And you're being so strong right now. I know I'd be yelling and screaming if I were you."

Wes smirked softly. "He's not kidding. I remember this one time he tried to practice his Spanish on a foreign exchange student at Crawford..."

"HEY!" David protested, "She was a SOCCER PLAYER and wearing HEELS! You'd have cried too if she kicked you in the you-know-where!"

Wes shrugged. "True, I'd probably have been in tears too, but I wouldn't have squealed at an octave not even KURT could hit! You sounded like a chipmunk on helium."

Lincoln giggled. There was something about hearing a funny story involving someone else's pain that was able to distract him from his own.

The little amber eyed boy crawled over and sat by Wes, looking up at the asian in wonder.

David chuckled. "Looks like little Andy likes you Wes."

Wes smiled down at the boy. "Oh, so your name is Andy."

The boy nodded. "Andrew Hanna Landon."

"Andy Landy." Seb teased.

Andy smiled brightly, "That's my name. Don't wear it out!"

Seb laughed and ruffled Andy's hair. "You've been spending too much time around me. You're starting to get sassy!"

Andy giggled and shook his head, "No. YOUR name line is always 'Remember my name, you'll.."

David quickly clapped at hand over Andy's mouth, laughing. "Ok. You HAVE been around Seb too much."

Sebastian was BRIGHT scarlet. "I am SO sorry! I SWEAR I don't know when I said that in front of him. I told you I've tried to work on my filter, but I guess some things have slipped."

Wes and the other's laughed.

Wes patted Seb on the shoulder. "It's ok, kid. We all say and do stupid stuff from time to time."

Seb nodded, looking guiltily at the floor. "Me more often than others..."

Wes was about to respond, when Thad came back into the room with the first aid kit and ice.

The boys gathered around. All the Warblers had flocked together to comfort and protect each other and to be comforted and protected.

Wes hugged more of his old friends and made friends with the new generation. He looked around. All the boys looked scared and hopeful. They NEEDED his help and wanted desperately to ask, but were scared he'd leave them again. He wouldn't. He COULDN'T! His brothers were broken. They needed him, and he was going to stay as long as he had to for him to make them ok again. He pulled them all closer into a group hug of sorts.

"Please tell me what's going on", Wes said and the boys looked at each other.

Then Sebastian started talking, started explaining, started to ask for help.


	2. The Safety Nest

**I don't own the song used in this chapter. **

**Song credit:**

**"Someone's Waiting for You" from the movie 'The Rescuers'**

_Text message_

_**Song lyrics**_

* * *

Sebastian looked around the room he sat in. It was Wes's place. The older Warblers member had taken the younger boys under his wing after what happened with Hunter and the steroids. Sebastian and the others sat in various places around the house, though most were in the living room. They were all talking among themselves.

Sebastian sat alone. He felt wrong being there. He had failed. Last year, he had sworn to Wes and The New Directions that he had changed. He'd tried, but then Hunter had come and he'd gone back to being bad. He'd really screwed up.

"It wasn't your fault." He heard someone say. Seb looked up to see Wes sit down next to him. "Hunter forced your hand. From what I've heard, he said and did some pretty nasty things to make you do what he wanted."

Sebastian shook his head, "I should've fought back harder." He sighed, "I could've stood up to him, or told the Dean what he was doing to us. If I would've just asked for help..."

"Should've, Could've, Would've won't do a damn." Wes said sternly, "There's nothing you can do to change the past. Just move on and grow from it."

Seb smiled, "You know, you should hate us right now." He sighed, "We let you down so hard. We failed you Wes. We ruined the Warblers reputation."

"No, you didn't do any of that." Wes shook his head, "Hunter did. You may've made your mistakes last year, and I was unhappy, but with Hunter, I'm furious at him. You know what the difference is?"

Sebastian shook his head, no.

Wes smiled and pulled the younger boy into a one-armed hug. "You regretted it. You saw what you did was wrong and apologized. You learned and grew into a better person. That's why I forgave you. Hunter hasn't done any of that. He doesn't see what he did as wrong. When you screwed up, you'd just forgotten your morals for a moment. They came back eventually and you made things right. Hunter didn't have morals to begin with. That's why I can't stand him."

"So, you're not mad at us?" Sebastian asked hopefully.

Wes laughed gently. Sebastian sounded like a small child. He gently tucked Seb's head under his chin and carded his finger through the boy's hair soothingly.

"I'm not mad." He whispered, "I was upset at first that you'd give into him, but when I heard HOW he'd gotten you to give into him, all I felt was sheer hatred for that rat. No, Sebastian, I could never be mad at you guys. You're my little fledglings. You just need your Big Brother Warbler to show you how to fly."

"Wes, your speech just went straight from poetic to pathetic." Sebastian laughed.

Wes was about to retort, when Sebastian's phone buzzed.

Seb pulled it out and opened the text message. He read it and paled. "Oh shit." He muttered, gulping.

"What's wrong?" Wes asked.

Seb whispered for only them to hear, "It's...it's from Hunter."

Wes's eyes went wide. "You're kidding. What does it say?"

Sebastian shook his head. He handed the phone to Wes. "Read it." He said, "I don't want to say it out loud. You know, risk the others hearing it and freaking out. We barely got most of them here as it is."

Wes nodded and looked at the phone.

_Text from Drill Sergeant Dip-wad: Last chance Smythe. Leave now! IK where you are and what you're doing. Go back to Dalton NOW, or you'll regret it._

Wes looked up at Sebastian. The boy looked calm on the outside, but years of experience meant Wes could clearly see the fear in his eyes. He pulled him closer into a brotherly hug.

"It's ok Sebastian. It's an empty threat." Wes tried to soothe him.

Seb shook his head, "He'd do it." He whispered, "We both know he'd do it. He's hurt all of us before. What is there to stop him doing it again?"

"Me." Wes said confidently, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promised I'd do everything I can to protect you guys, and I don't break my promises that easily."

Seb nodded, yet said nothing.

Wes looked down and was somewhat shocked to see a tear rolling down Sebastian's cheek.

"Hey," Wes said softly, thumbing away the tear, "what's with the water works?"

Sebastian scoffed, "More than you'll ever know. Mostly, I just...to put it bluntly, I haven't felt I had a lot of people around me who actually gave a genuine, unconditional crap what happens to me for a LONG time now. It means a lot that you and the Warblers do."

"Glad to be of service." Wes smiled.

Sebastian sighed, "Ya, but also I'm crying 'cause..." He searched for the right words.

"You're scared that I won't be able to keep my promise and something is going to happen." Wes said simply.

Sebastian froze as Wes voiced his exact thought process. He nodded dumbly.

Wes smiled, "I'm not a mind reader. I just spent enough time at Dalton to understand the mind-set. Don't worry. Even if something does happen, I'll be there to kick some serious ass!"

Sebastian let out a noise that could only be described as a half laugh, half sob.

Wes held him tighter. "Hush now, little mockingbird. It's alright. Big Brother Bird is here now. I'll keep you all safe. I'll make it ok."

Seb nodded, not even protesting to the nickname. He snuggled closer to Wes's warmth.

Wes looked down again and sighed at the dark circles under Seb's eyes. "Little bird, when was the last time you got some sleep?"

Seb chuckled nervously. "Last night.."

Wes shook his head. "No. Not the last time you SLEPT. The last time you got some SLEEP. I mean like REAL sleep. Restful and peaceful and healthy sleep."

Sebastian sighed, "Last week.."

Wes winced. "When last week?" he asked, though it didn't really matter. That many consecutive days and nights without rest was not healthy.

Seb managed a small smirk. "The day you came storming into Dalton and started screaming at Hunter. You were scary as hell, but I couldn't help but just feel so much CALMER. Safer. I remember thinking 'Finally! He's back! Nothing can hurt us now. Hunter won't be able to touch us anymore. Wes won't let him'. And that night, I actually SLEPT!" He winced, "Then the next day Hunter made our lives hell again, and I realized that nothing was going to change THAT fast."

Wes smiled gently and pulled Sebastian down until his head was on Wes's lap. "Ok. So you feel safe when I'm around. That's good. You sleep now. I'm right here. You're alright. I promise. I'll protect you. Just rest now."

Seb sighed and gave in. He was exhausted. He snuggled into Wes. After a moment, he spoke. "Wes?"

"Yes Bas?" Wes responded softly, carding his fingers soothingly through the boy's hair.

Seb blushed slightly. "Will you...could you sing?"

Wes chuckled warmly. "Sure Sebastian. Of course. Just close your eyes and relax."

Sebastian yawned and nodded, his eyes slowly slipping shut.

Wes played softly with the boy's hair and started to sing.

**_"Be brave little one._**  
**_Make a wish for each sad little tear._**  
**_Hold your head up though no one is near_**  
**_Someone's waiting for you._**  
**_Don't cry little one._**  
**_There'll be a smile where a frown use to be_**  
**_You'll be part of the love that you see._**  
**_Someone's waiting for you._**  
**_Always keep a little prayer in your pocket_**  
**_and you're sure to see the light._**  
**_Soon there'll be joy and happiness_**  
**_and your little world will be bright_**  
**_Have faith little one_**  
**_'Til your hopes and your wishes come true._**  
**_You must try to be brave little one._**  
**_Someone's waiting to love you"_**

Sebastian was almost completely asleep by the end of the song. His quiet, sleepy voice drifted up. "Wes?"

Wes smiled. "Yes Bas?"

"Thanks" Seb said softly, before falling asleep

Wes beamed. "You're welcome Mockingbird. You're always welcome. Always."


	3. Blonde Eagle

Wes walked swiftly through the halls of Dalton. It was 10:34 on a Thursday. All his brothers were in class. Or...at least they should have been. Some of them, Wes knew, were not. Some were sick from withdrawing from the steroids. Some were injured and had been sentenced, by Wes, the school nurse, or a doctor, to bed rest. Some were just too scared to leave their rooms. All of these things were Hunter's fault. Wes grew more furious with that boy every new day. The alumni asian boy was going to fix this, just as he'd promised to. None of his baby birds knew he was doing this. If all went as was planned, they'd never have to.

Wes was highly respected by the faculty of Dalton. He'd been one of the best students the school had seen in its years. He'd made many friends among the staff and had connections and influence he knew how to work in his favor. Wes loved Dalton and had dreams of teaching there in the future. If his plans went well...possibly the NEAR future.

Wes stopped outside the doors of one of his highest ranking connections. The Warblers, and a few other students, for years had referred to this person as 'The Blonde Eagle'. If you didn't recognize from the grandeur of the nickname how highly ranked this person was, you'd understand when you saw who this person REALLY was. He smiled as he read the nameplate on the door

Mrs. Judy Mirren: Head Dean

Wes chuckled. When most people heard the Dean of Dalton, an all boys school, was actually a WOMAN, they completely flipped their lids! It made no sense to them what a woman would be doing running a school for young men. To anyone who'd met Dean Mirren, however, the arrangement made perfect sense. The woman was FIERCELY protective of her school and of her students. The minute someone told her something was amiss, she dealt with it. She was NOT afraid to tell the Dalton board of directors EXACTLY what she thought of them when they did something stupid. Wes assumed she would classify Hunter's recruitment as 'something stupid'. He beamed at the thought as he rapped on the door.

The door was opened by Mrs. Mirren, smiling brightly. "Weston! Right on time, as always. How good it is to see you again, my dear."

Wes bowed slightly. "A pleasure to me as well, Madam. Though I wish I were here under better pretenses."

The Dean sighed sadly as she led him to a seat. "Yes. Yes. You told me the basics of this horror over the phone, and the news has not stopped playing the latest about the Scandal since it broke." She start to brew some tea. "One of the board members actually had the balls to suggest we punish TRENT for breaking the story. I told him if he tried, the story wouldn't be the only thing broken around here."

Wes snorted. "A well handled situation, if I may compliment you, Mrs. Mirren."

She smiled. "You may. Thank you." She shook her head. "And before you even START to ask me how this devil slipped in under my nose, I will be honest and say I have NO excuse. I should have read his records MUCH more closely before allowing the board to offer Hunter a scholarship or whatever it was they did. I should've known those old money grabbing geezers would let a rat loose in my school just to line their own pockets! I'm having those men investigated, removed, and replaced with a competent staffing that actually CARE about the boys here." She sighed, "They were just shoving so much at me at once! It's like they KNEW they could...no! They DID know! They KNEW that they could get whatever it was they wanted if they shoved it all at me at once. Gave me NO time to research and review to my usual standards. Little bastards."

Wes reached over and took her hand. "It's alright now Mrs Mirren. I'm sure you can fix this. If ANYONE can clean up this mess, it's YOU."

Judy Mirren smiled and relaxed. "Thank you Wes. You're right. I WILL get this fixed." She poured out two cups of tea. She took one for herself and handed one to Wes.

Wes nodded and accepted the tea graciously. "I know. That's why I came to talk to you. To help you make the right choices. To help you fix things."

She hummed softly as she sipped on her tea. "I'd appreciate that. For ONCE having someone to work with who I can trust."

Wes smiled and sipped at his own cup. He was more of a coffee kid, as Mrs Mirren should've known after the years they'd known each other, but it would've have been rude to point that out. And also VERY counter-productive to his mission. "I agree. Now, down to business. What are your plans for dealing with the students involved in this?"

Mrs. Mirren sighed. "Well, under normal circumstances, what the Warblers have done would be grounds for suspension. Maybe even expulsion."

"But these are NOT normal circumstances." Wes countered, "You CAN'T send them all away!"

"Wes, I don't always get to make the rules..." She explained softly.

"But you get to decided HOW you enforce them." Wes said strongly, putting his cup down on the table, "And I'm sorry Mrs Mirren, but sending the boys away would be the WRONG decision."

The Dean's eyebrows went up. "Oh really? Please continue Weston. What do you know that I don't?"

Wes sighed. "I can't say all the EXACT details, but I assure you. While Hunter wasn't the only Warbler to take steroids, he WAS the only Warbler to take the shots completely willingly."

The Dean paled. "This is turning down a path I don't like in the slightest..."

Wes nodded and told her what stories he could of Hunter's evil. Some stories were too disgusting to pass his lips. Others he'd sworn to the boys he'd keep secret...at least for now. It went on and on for at least 45 minutes.

By the time it ended, Judy Mirren sat, frozen in sickened horror in her desk chair. She sipped on her tea slowly and closed her eyes. "I feel as if I'm going to be ill."

Wes sighed. "I felt the same when I found out. When I realized what Hunt had done. He FORCED those boys under the needles. Blackmail. Attacks. Threats. Violence. Sabotage. Hunter put our boys through HELL! Basically, they really had near to no choice. You can't punish them for THAT!"

The Dean was holding her tea-cup so tight it nearly cracked. "You're right. I can't. At least not the way I'm going to punish that MONSTER Clarington! HE is getting EXPELLED! I want him OUT of my school NOW!"

Wes smiled at the flash in her eyes. It was the same protective energy he felt for his boys. The Dean and Wes were on the same wave length. The same page. They were in sync.

The Dean placed her cup on the table next to Wes's and quickly jotted some things down in a notebook. "They still need some sort of small punishment, but I think I know the perfect thing. It'll help them heal and satisfy the need for 'discipline' all at once. I'll have to do some research, but I'm sure things will work out perfectly."

Wes read it upside-down across the desk and beamed. "PERFECT! That's EXACTLY what my boys need!"

Mrs. Mirren chuckled. "YOUR boys? I haven't heard you call them that in a LONG time Wes. I didn't think I'd hear it again till you taught here like you alway said you would one day."

Wes cleared his throat. "Ya...about that...there's...something else I wanted to ask you about..."


	4. The Meeting

The Warblers all waited nervously in Mrs. Mirren's office. All except Hunter that is. He had tried to follow, but one look at the feral anger in Wes's eyes as he'd looked at him, and he thought better of trying to enter the room the Asian boy was guarding and had turned around. The Warblers felt calmer for that, but they still felt fear.

Mrs. Mirren had yet to address them on the scandal of the steroids. The boys were all staring at her desk. On the center of it was a large folder. On top of the folder was a set of expulsion papers with Hunter's name all over them. The boys could only assume that THEY were going to be next.

Mrs. Mirren entered the room with Wes staying outside, making sure no one disturbed them. She sat at her desk and looked around at the fidgeting young men. "Good morning."

"Good Morning Mrs. Mirren." They all said at once, only a few daring to meet her eyes.

Judy Mirren smiled softly at them. It was a warm, comforting expression. "Calm down boys," She spoke sweetly, "You're safe now. Hunter isn't here." She picked up the expulsion papers and waved them, "And soon he won't be anymore. You can speak freely. He is GOING to be expelled."

"And...so are we." Lincoln said softly, a tear of shame rolling down his cheek, "That's why you called us here, isn't it? We're in trouble."

Mrs Mirren looked at him confused, then gasped in realization. She'd not told them yet that they were safe! The poor boys thought she'd called them all here to send them away. She stood and hurried over to Lincoln. She pulled the boy into a hug. "Oh honey! I'm so sorry. I should've told you first thing. No. You are NOT expelled. None of you boys are. The only person getting kicked out of Dalton is Hunter."

The boys all gaped. This was some sort of dream! They got to STAY?!

"But...But that makes no sense." Seb stumbled on his words. "We took the drugs! We're in trouble. Or..at least we should be..."

"You are." Mrs. Mirren said gently, "But not the sort that Hunter is in. And you will face consequences." She picked up the folder off her desk. She opened it and began to hand out sheets of paper to the boys. "THIS is your 'punishment', if you must call it that.."

Andy read the sheet "Therapy sessions?"

"And REHAB sessions?" David said in disbelief. "But...but this is NOTHING! The handbook clearly says..."

"That the final choice with all matters of discipline rests with ME and my word is law" Mrs. Mirren said sternly, as a mother would to her son, "Do you boys have a PROBLEM with how I've chosen?"

"NO MADAM!" They all said in unison.

Mrs. Mirren nodded, smiling. "That's what I thought. Now, I called you here to discuss how this arrangement is going to work. Rides to and from any away sessions will be..." She stopped, brows furrowing, "Mr Sterling? Are you alright back there?"

Jeff nodded, flipping his wince into a smile. "Yes Mrs. Mirren. I'm perfectly fine!"

Mrs. Mirren shook her head. "Lovely acting Jeffery. Now, let's try this again, this time with honestly, and I will rephrase, since it is obvious to me that you are NOT alright. What's wrong Jeff? I saw you grimacing. You looked to be in pain."

Jeff blushed deeply as she called his bluff. "I...um...my ankle is sort of bothering me today. Standing on it is...not pleasant."

The Dean smiled warmly. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Thaddeus, would you be a dear and pull a chair over for your 'brother' so he may sit."

Thad nodded and quickly pulled a chair over for Jeff. "Cuckoo bird, why is it you always need one of US to tell YOU when you're not ok?"

Jeff glared playfully as he was pushed gently into the seat by Nick and Thad. "Shut up!" He nodded to the Dean, "That's better. Thank you Mrs. Mirren."

She laughed. "Of course dear. You're welcome." She cleared her throat, "Now, as I was saying rides will be provided by the school for any away sessions. Going to these appointments is MANDATORY for ALL Warblers...except Hunter, who should never have been a Warbler in the first place." She looked over a copy of the sheet herself, "If you for any reason can't make it to the appointments, you need to either let us know before hand or come afterwards with a note from a suitable authority figure excusing you. Doctors, Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Employers..."

"Wes?" Andy asked curiously and somewhat hopefully.

Judy Mirren smiled at the little boy. "Yes. In this case, we will accept notes from Wes as excuses. He is a HIGHLY trusted adult. If he says you couldn't be there, then you couldn't."

The boys nodded. Wes would get them out of it if they needed it, but would otherwise make sure they always went. He was responsible like that. He cared about them and wanted what was best.

Mrs. Mirren continued to explain the details of the plan to the boys, who nodded and listened intently. They were going to do this right. Do EXACTLY what was asked of them. This was a chance to prove they were good boys. A chance they didn't plan on wasting. They were NOT going to screw this up!

Wes came in. "I'm sorry to interrupt Mrs. Mirren, but if you're close to being done, there are some men that want to talk to you about the board members...hopefully soon to be former board member. I can tell them to come back later if you're not..."

"No no. Thank you Weston." The Dean nodded, "I think I've covered all the basics that need to be said. If any of you boys have questions, please feel free to ask me at any time, alright."

"Yes Mrs. Mirren." They all nodded.

She smiled at them, "Alright then. You boys are free to go. Oh! And Wes! You might want to carry Jeffery. He won't tell you, just as he almost didn't tell me, but his ankle was bothering him something awful earlier and I have a hunch that it still is."

Wes smiled and picked the blonde up in his arms. "Stubborn little bird, aren't you Cuckoo?"

Jeff blushed a deep scarlet.

The other boys laughed and said goodbye to the Dean, thanking her greatly, before leaving the room.

Wes carried Jeff towards the door. Before he left, however, he looked back at the Dean. "Oh! Mrs. Mirren, have you made a decision in the other matter we discussed?"

She chuckled softly at him. "I'm still thinking about it Weston. I promise to tell you when I make up my mind."

Wes nodded and left the room.

"What were you guys talking about?" Jeff asked, "What 'other matter'?"

Wes smiled. "I'll tell you later Cuckoo. Now, let's get to the senior commons. Sebastian and Thad said there was something they wanted to discuss there."

The two of them made their way to the commons. Once in the room, Wes placed Jeff down on Nick's lap, making many of the other Warblers cat-call and clap. Kiwi and Cuckoo appropriately gave the rest of their Warbler brothers 'The Bird.'

Wes chuckled and sat down himself, turning his attention to Seb and Thad at the front of the room. "Ok. We're all here, except for Hunter, though I doubt he'll show his rotten little weasel face here."

Seb nodded. "Ok, so I wanted to get you guys all here to make a proposition."

"NONE of you have to do it if you don't want to." Thad said, "But Bas and I are going to, and the more that do, the better."

Wes's eyebrows furrowed. What was going on here?

Seb bit his lip, "There's no use beating around the bush, so let's be blunt." He took a breath, "I think we should join Trent and testify against Hunter at the trial."

With that, all hell broke loose. Boys started yelling and panicking and crying and asking Seb if he was nuts. Seb gulped and shrunk back.

Thad jumped onto the old Council table. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" he yelled.

This quieted some of the room, but most hadn't heard him. Wes, who was still sort of in shock himself, decided to help. He went to the Council table and opened one of the drawers.

The room went dead silent as there was a loud bang from the Council table. They all looked over worriedly, thinking Thad had fallen, but instead saw Wes, sitting at his old place at the table, twirling a wooden object in his fingers.

Andy gaped. "Is that..."

Wes nodded. "The gavel. MY gavel."

David groaned. "THAD! I thought you said you BURNED that god forsaken thing."

Wes's eyebrows went up as he looked incredulously at Thad, who was climbing off the table. "He thought you WHAT?!"

Thad sighed. "I never said I BURNED it. I said I 'got rid of it'. I hid it in your old council drawer. The one we put a lock on to keep things safe and secret. Only council members have keys, and I knew I was never going to open it, and David never goes near it..."

"So you assumed that my precious would be locked in there forever." Wes glared playfully.

"SAFE in there for as long as it had to be." Thad corrected, "Trust me. If David had gotten a hold of the gavel, it WOULD have been burned."

The Warblers all laughed at the comically horrified look on Wes's face. They'd all either experienced or heard stories of the old war in the Warblers. The head council man of the Warblers always had SOMETHING to get the attention of the others. Some were ok...some were not. Wes, when it came his time, had chosen a gavel. This was a NOT ok one. The Warblers all HATED it, and had become invested in a long battle to get rid of the offending object. Wes somehow always rescued his gavel though, and the Warblers plans backfired badly. The game made Wes even MORE protective and possessive of his gavel. And...now that he'd found it...

Nick and Jeff grinned deviously, "Let the games BEGIN!"

Wes blanched and put the gavel in his pocket. "ANYWAY, back to what Seb was talking about."

Seb nodded."Ok. So, yes, I KNOW it's crazy and dangerous and scary. BUT...I can't take it anymore. The GUILT of what we did! The pain of what Hunter did to MAKE us do it! I...I just can't! And I KNOW that none of you can either! I don't expect you all to join me. Frankly, I don't want you to. Some of you are still too, to put it simply, weak to be able to take Hunter on. I won't judge ANY of you for saying no. But even if Thad and I are doing this alone, we're doing it. We CAN'T let Hunter get away with what he did to us all. And I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore without feeling like I'm JUST as bad as him. Maybe this won't fix everything, but it's the right thing to do, and it's a step." He caught his breath.

Thad stepped forward and took Seb's hand. "So...who's with us?"

The room was dead silent.

Then, Lincoln stood up and went to stand by Thad. "I am" He said, "I stick by what I said the day Hunter kicked my ass. We need to end this."

Andy stood and went over. He hugged Sebastian. "I'm with you too." He winked at Thad, "I may be small, but I can still put up a fight."

Thad smirked and high-fived Andy. "Tiny...but MIGHTY!"

David strode over to the group."You had me all the way back at 'join Trent'. I've wanted to put Hunter in his place ever since I met that no good little miscreant. I'm in!"

Jeff stood and started limping towards them. Nick was quickly at his side, supporting him. Thad and Seb took hold of Jeff's arms as soon as he was close enough and sat the boy in a chair, Nick perching on the arm rest. Niff was in.

Slowly, the group grew as more and more boys joined. At the end, there were still some boys who hadn't joined, but that was fine. They weren't ready. They were sick or injured or younger or just scared. They'd join if and when they were ready.

Wes smiled at the group "I'm proud of you boys. Really, really proud."

They all smiled and blushed at the praise.

Seb cleared his throat. "Um...Wes? There is one part we need your help with?"

Wes nodded. "Of course. Anything."

Seb sighed. "We...we need to talk to the Nude Erect ... NEW DIRECTIONS, sorry force of habit. They were the ones to help Trent start the case and stuff. It's through them we can join the prosecution. We wanna meet with them soon but..."

"Seb is too scared to call them." Thad admitted softly.

Wes nodded. "So you want ME to do it."

The boys nodded.

Wes smiled "Done. Ok. So I'll go talk to them and set up a date." He went and hugged his brothers. "YOU boys get yourselves to bed. I know it's still early, but you guys need the rest." He looked to Seb, knowing what the boy was going to say before it passed his lips, "I talked to the Dean. The dorm management staff opened up the guest room for me to stay in on nights I stay at Dalton and for you to stay in until Hunter is officially expelled. NONE of you should be forced to room with that monster."

Seb sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Wes nodded and kissed Sebastian's temple softly. "I'll be back soon."

He left to go talk to the New Directions and the Warblers went back to the dorms together.

Seb went to the guest suite and collapsed onto one of the beds. He was asleep within minutes. He didn't hear Wes come in 2 hours later after a successful mission. He didn't see the way Wes smiled at him. He didn't know that Wes had undressed him as much as he could without invading Seb's privacy and had put a spare pair of his own pajamas since Sebastian's stuff was still in his room. He didn't feel Wes maneuver him under the covers and tuck him in. It wasn't till the next morning when he woke up to the smell of coffee on his bedside table that he realized: He had the best big brother EVER!


	5. The Bean

Sebastian sat in the Lima Bean, anxiously waiting. He checked his watch for the time and his phone to see if he had missed any messages. What if they'd changed their minds? What if they didn't come?

He looked around him. Scattered about the building, sitting at their own tables, were the other members of the Warblers. Well, not all of them, but all the ones brave enough to go behind Hunter's back with him.

Yesterday had been the seventh of the hearings for the steroids. Hunter had told them all to keep quiet and pretend it had never happened. There had been a sort of unspoken 'or else' in his tone. They'd all listened and tried to obey out of fear. Now, however, it was too much. The fear of Hunter's wrath was outweighed by the guilt of their crimes. They had to confess. All of them that were gathered in the Lima bean were prepared to testify against Hunter and themselves. Sure, they'd probably get punished too, but they were willing to take it. At least if they told the truth, they had a slim chance of gaining forgiveness.

They'd called the New Directions. Everyone knew they'd been the ones to rat them out, but they weren't mad. In fact, they were impressed that they'd figured it out, and even slightly grateful. Knowing what they did about steroids, most of the boys were certain that the McKinley kids had literally saved their lives.

The New Directions had agreed to meet them at the Lima Bean. They had been reluctant, still not trusting the Warblers after what had happened. That was fine. That just meant the boys had work harder to convince them. That went double for Sebastian. He tried not to cry as he thought about it. He really had changed. He really was trying to be a better person. He had been so close to being able to prove it. He was just shy of earning back their respect. He had almost gotten to where he felt he could start thinking about asking to be their friend. He had almost been there, but then Hunter had come and messed everything up. Now, he couldn't even look at his own reflection in the mirror without feeling the sickening twinge of shame. He hoped maybe this meeting would make that feeling go away, or at least put him on the path to where it would.

Sebastian glanced at his watch again. The numbers flashed 4:30. The McKinley kids were supposed to meet them there at 4:15. They were late. Either that, or they weren't coming.

"Hey," came a soft voice behind him, "don't worry. They'll be here."

Sebastian turned to see Wes standing there, smiling comfortingly. Seb smiled back weakly. They'd been really lucky in that area. Wes could so easily have been furious with them all for what they'd done and refused to speak to them. Instead, he had come to see them. He had been angry, but more directed at Hunter than them. If anything, he'd been ashamed of them. He quickly saw, however, that the Warblers felt the same way...and that they hadn't exactly been completely willing participants. He'd forgiven them and agreed to help. He stuck to the Warbler code with his life. Hunter, Wes said, was never a Warbler. He lacked the right principles and morals.

Hunter's damage ran deeper than just the steroids. He had said and done horrible things to get the boys to do what he wanted. Wes was only just starting to fix his boys after what that monster had done. All the boys had talked with him at least once. Many hour had he spent now with a boy crying on his shoulder. He had talked down and soothed his boys from nightmares at least once a night almost every night now. Though he'd sworn to tell no one of it, he had even had Sebastian seek his council. Wes planned to keep his word to his Mockingbird. Not a soul would know what hid behind that boy's carefully crafted walls. Wes could see that Sebastian was trying to change, and planned to be there to help him. This meeting with the New Directions had been mostly his idea.

Wes sat down next to him. "As we have established, your damn watch is fast, and you need to get it reset." He put a comforting hand on Sebastian's shoulder.

Sebastian laughed, "OK, so what time is actually?"

"It's 4:15 on the dot." Wes said slowly, "They're technically still late, since they aren't here now, but not so much so that we should think they aren't going to show."

Seb nodded. Just then, his phone started to vibrate. He opened the text message. He gulped nervously. "It's Blaine." He whispered, "They're almost here...and they've brought along all of them."

Wes looked at him confused. "All of who?"

"All the New Directions." Sebastian paled, "The new flock AND the old. That means they'll have all the people who hate me the most, besides Hunter that is, in the same room."

"With many of the people who care about you the most." Wes added quickly, "Sebastian, relax. Everything is going to be fine. Hunter is going to be expelled from Dalton, so he can't hurt you anymore. Nothing and no one is going to hurt you guys. I promise."

"That reminds me." Seb said suddenly, "How is it that Hunter is getting expelled, yet all the rest of us aren't? I mean sure, we have to go to all those therapy sessions and crap, but I really thought we would..." He looked up to see Wes smiling at him. He smirked as the realization hit him. "Alright Brother Bird, what did you do?"

Wes raised his eyebrows in comical mock shock and denial. "Who, me? What? Nothing. How could you think I could do such a thing? It's not as if I used my Valedictorian, Honor Student, Teacher's pet status and some of the stories you guys told me of Hunter's manipulative torture to convince the Dean of your innocence in this debacle." He looked up at the ceiling as a smile slowly pulled at his lips, "And, if there ever was to be a discussion of new leadership to save the Warbler's legacy, I certainly didn't suggest that I could come back and possibly coach for you guys."

Sebastian gasped, nearly shooting out of his seat. "Are you serious?! Oh my god! What did she say? She had to say yes, right?"

Wes laughed, putting an arm around Sebastian's shoulder. "Woah there! Slow down Seb! She said she'd THINK about it, ok? Though, I personally think I have it in the bag. Though she did say she might want me to have a co-coach or something, and you guys would still be watched like a bad reality show. Now, calm down my little mockingbird!"

Sebastian blushed at Wes's nickname for him. "Remind me again what the hell I did to make you decide to call me that?"

Wes smirked. "Oh, a lot of reason. For one thing, you're alway so sarcastic and mock people. You don't do it to hurt them, it's just the way you are. For another thing..."

He was cut off as Seb went rigid next to him. "Oh god!" He muttered, "They're here!"

* * *

**To be continued...**

**If you'd like a list of the Face-casts for all the characters, simply ask in the reviews. I have it and would be happy to post it**

**If you'd like a list of all the nicknames for the different characters, again, just ask and I will happily provide**


	6. The Bean: part 2

_He was cut off as Seb went rigid next to him. "Oh god!" He muttered, "They're here!"_

Wes looked up to see The New Directions entering the Lima Bean and making their way towards them. Blaine hadn't been kidding about bringing ALL of them. There were enough people to fill a small bus. He watched as Kurt, Blaine and the teacher, Mr. Shuester if he had his names right, sat down across from them. All of the rest of the crowd sat with the other Warblers or on their own at the surrounding tables.

There was one empty seat next to Sebastian. Wes was about to say something about how rude it was to shun him like that, but was cut off be Sebastian.

"It's ok Wes." He said, picking up on the older boy's train of thought, "They're not sitting there because I'm saving it for someone." He looked up at the doorway expectantly.

Wes followed his gaze and couldn't help but smile. There stood Trent, one of the only Hunter-hating Warblers who hadn't been originally with them. He'd sort of distanced himself from the others after agreeing to testify, afraid they'd all hate him. They didn't. In fact, from what Wes heard, they all missed him. Trent caught Wes's smile and seemed to loosen up, knowing he was welcome.

Sebastian removed his hand from where it had been on the chair cushion. "Trent?" He asked awkwardly, "Will you come sit with me?"

Trent positively beamed. "Of course Sebastian!" Trent chirped. He walked over and plopped down in the seat Sebastian had saved for him. "So does this mean you're not mad at me? You don't want to attack me for ratting you guys out?"

Sebastian and many of the other Warblers looked at Trent in pure horror and genuine shock.

"What?!" Sebastian exclaimed, "You're joking, right? Trent, we all really like you. Heck, I'm sure half the mushy saps here would say we 'love you like a brother' and, though I'd never be caught dead phrasing it that way, it's true. We could NEVER be mad at you. You're the only one of us who had the balls to call Hunter out on his crap and actually walk away. If anything, we're proud of you for standing up for yourself and thankful you saved us from Hunter before it was to late. And even if we WERE pissed at you, none of us would ever actually HURT you! Where the hell would you get the idea that we wanted to ATTACK you?!"

Trent looked him in the eye, biting at his lip slightly. That look was all the answer Sebastian needed. Anger boiled in his veins.

"Hunter!" He growled, his hand balling into a tight fist, "Should've known the no good little weasel would pull something like that! What did he say to you?"

A thought suddenly flashed through his head that lost him all his steam, his mood swinging again. "Oh god!" he gasped, his eyes going huge, "He didn't DO anything to you, did he? Trent, please tell me that devil-spawn didn't hurt you?"

Trent bit down hard on his lip. "That is a conversation for later!" he said clearly, "What's important right now is why you guys wanted to meet New Directions and me here. Wes said you had something important to discuss. Since you wanted to see me along with them and have been mercilessly Hunter bashing for the past five minutes, I'm going to take a leap of faith and say...are you guys...are you seriously wanting to testify?"

Sebastian and the other nodded, causing most of the New Directions to dawn looks of shock and disbelief.

"Why?" Kurt snapped, "I thought you two were buddies, Sebastian?"

"Kurt!" Wes gasped at his friends harsh words, "You don't even know what happened. How can you..."

"It's ok Wes." Sebastian interrupted, "That's the point. He doesn't know. Last he saw or heard of me, I was a jerk claiming to be changing or the henchman of the devil incarnate. Ya, when Blaine came by Dalton, it probably did look like me and Hunter were best friends, because that's how Hunter WANTED it to look! Isn't the point of this whole meet up to tell them our side of the story?"

He was met with silence. None of the New Directions or Warblers knew how to react. Sebastian had basically just said that Kurt was RIGHT! No one had seen that coming.

Kurt himself was gaping in shock. Those words could NOT have just come out of the meerkat's mouth! He had NOT just said Kurt was RIGHT, had he? No! Sebastian was a his enemy! But then...Kurt's mind was racing almost frantically to find an insult or some HINT of sarcasm in the boy's words, but was coming up empty.

"Guys, why don't we go get our drinks quick?" Mr. Shue asked suddenly, "Then we can discuss...all this." He smiled slightly at Sebastian. Years of teaching had taught him how to read most kids pretty well. As he looked at Sebastian, he could clearly see from the look in the kid's eye that he needed a minute. A moment alone with his friends to be able collect himself.

Sebastian glanced at the teacher and gave him a half-smile of gratitude. He sort of liked this man. He seemed almost fatherly to the New Directions. Seb hoped he'd find someone like that to watch out for him. 'Wait! No!' he thought suddenly, 'You already have that. Wes has your back. He protects you. Wes is Big Brother Bird.'

Wes nodded. "That sounds good. Thank you."

The New Directions all nodded and got up to go get in line. Kurt was the last to leave, still staring at Sebastian with a shocked, confused, and some what analytical expression.

Wes shook his head. "I can't believe he said that to you. I thought Kurt was more empathic than THAT. Thought he had SOME sort of TACT..."

"He is, and he does" Seb interrupted, "He didn't say anything that I wasn't already expecting someone to say. He's reacting normally for the person I use to be. Kurt's soft, sometimes a little too much so, but he DOES have a bitch side when you poke his wrong buttons. I poked. He snapped. Last he saw me was right after DK had tried to end it...something I was at least PARTIALLY responsible for pushing towards. I had JUST apologized, with doubtable sincerity considering all I'd done..."

"Bas..." Trent tried to stop him, but Wes shook his head. Sebastian needed to get this all out of his system and THEN be told it was almost all bullshit.

Seb continued as if they had never spoken. "I had been lusting after and trying to steal his boyfriend since before Kurt even MET me. I blackmailed his step-brother with a badly doctored naked pic that made it look as if the Big Friendly Giant was NOT so giant in certain places. I nearly BLINDED Anderson. That is a FACT! Sure, I felt like shit for it afterward, but I never showed ANY outward remorse to them. That itself is enough for Kurt to despise me for the rest of my natural existence." He looked over at his friends who now were drawing closer, gritting his teeth in self-disgust, "But what ALL of you have forgotten... what me and Kurt can NEVER forget...is that Killer wasn't the intended target! He JUMPED into the war path to save his boyfriend. I WAS AIMING AT KURT!" He snapped, his hand tightening violently around his coffee cup, threatening to break it.

The Warblers were dead silent, not sure how to react to this outburst. Not sure what to say to soothe their hurting ex-captain.

Seb gulped, his mask cracking slightly before being slammed back into place. "I apologize out of the blue after all THAT?! It's no wonder he assumes it's another act. A trick. He lets it go a little. Gives me the benefit of the doubt for a while. TESTS me to see if I'll REALLY change. And then what do I do? I become the right hand wing man of Dalton's new head douche. Sure, I was being FORCED to follow that asshole, but did Kurt KNOW that? Did ANYONE outside Warblers know that?! NO! They had no clue, because Hunter didn't WANT them to know! He hid it from them and managed to keep all of our mouths shut about it. We put on a freaking show for all of them. We fooled them into thinking we were exactly what Hunter wanted them to see us as." He shook his head, "Kurt has no reason to forgive me or like me. He has every reason to despise me. I don't like it, but it's the truth. And it's ok. THAT is why we're all here. To set things right and show them we HAVE changed. Tell them what REALLY happened. To try to regain enough dignity, self-respect, and honor that we'll be able to look at ourselves in the mirror without feeling like we wanna throw up."

The group nodded, dead silent. All of them felt the same way. All could relate to the nauseous shame the fill their stomachs everyday. All of them were scared of Hunter, but none of them were able to stand the guilt anymore. All had been on the receiving end of Hunter's monstrous nature and felt the effects...

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**Next chapter will tell HOW Hunter got some of the Warblers to follow him. Not ALL of the back-stories will be told yet, but a few will. **

**Hope you like the story so far ;D. Thank you all for the nice reviews. You make me feel so loved and special**

**Also, on a COMPLETELY unrelated note, I have a question for you guys: If you were going to hide something (like, I don't know, maybe A GAVEL) from someone (*cough* Wes* cough*) how would YOU do it? Feel free to put any ideas you have in the reviews ;D**


	7. Reasons

Trent rubbed his arm. The bruises Hunter had given him were still fading. The older boy had targeted Trent as the weakest link in the Warblers. Still, he was a link in the chain, and one that Hunter could exploit. Trent meant a lot to his Warblers brothers and his Warbler brothers meant a lot to Trent. The Sassy Warbler was FIERCELY loyal to those he cared about, and Hunter manipulated that. He'd attack Trent verbally and physically, crippling the boy's self-esteem. The taunts still rang in Trent's head. "You only got in out of PITY!". "Without Warblers, you're NOTHING!?". "You're the weak link Warbler, Sensitive! Buck up or you're OUT!". To Trent, Warblers was home. They were his family. He was desperate to stay with them. But, eventually, he knew Hunter had gone too far. STEROIDS?! It was MADNESS! So he walked away. It hurt like hell, but it was what was best for him. He kept his mouth shut to save his brothers though. What they'd done was not their fault. It was Hunter's. He wouldn't let them be shamed and hurt because of what that devil spawn had made them do. Even after leaving, however, Hunter still bullied him. He had to keep the boy quiet after all. He fed him lies that the other boys hated him and were out for blood. This was made more severe after Trent testified against the Warblers. Trent tried not to listen, but Hunter was so good at mimicking the way his brother's spoke, it was hard to not wonder if they'd actually said those things. After a while...he started to believe Hunter's words. Now that he knew the truth, however, he knew it had just been a ploy to keep him and his family separated. Now that he knew the truth, he was NEVER leaving his brothers again.

Jeff rested his head on Nick's shoulder and bit his lip hard. The blonde still couldn't quite dance the way he once was able to after getting inbetween Nick and a Roid Raging Hunter at the beginning of the year. After that, Hunter had used Nick as a way to get to Jeff. It was a chain reaction. Hunter said if Jeff disobeyed, he would hurt Nick, which would as a result hurt Jeff. The boy had done what he did to keep his Nicky out of harms way. Nick was his best friend...and more than that even. Jeff would DIE before he let anyone hurt him.

Nick pulled the blonde closer and kissed his hairline softly. He loved Jeff in ways that he couldn't describe. Best friend didn't even come close. Brother was closer but still felt wrong. Nick didn't know if what he and Jeff had was romance, but he didn't care. And THAT is where Hunter had stuck him hardest, threatening to hurt Jeff again if Nick didn't either obey or leave. Same if he told another living soul what Hunter was doing to them. After what Hunter had done at the beginning of the year, Nick knew it wasn't an empty threat. Hunter had already nearly crippled his Jeffie because of Nick once. He'd be DAMNED if he let it happen again.

David fiddled with his pen in his pocket. Things shouldn't have gone this far. Last year, he should've stopped Sebastian when he started to go over the line. But...he'd been going through a lot. His girlfriend of 6 years had cheated on and then dumped him, his parents had gotten VERY close to divorcing, and his grandpa had died. All this stress had crashed him. His grades had taken an alarming dive. By the time he'd applied for colleges, his GPA was, to put it bluntly, pathetic. He had been rejected from every school he'd applied to. He'd met with the Dean and arranged to redo his senior year. The next year, however, Hunter had come. And he'd found David's report card. He threatened sabotage. David crossed him, he would make him crash again. At first he'd thought it was a bluff...until the first time it happened. Hunter had stolen and destroyed a project that was at least a third of his grade the night before it was due. It had taken him weeks of extra credit work to save his grade. After that, David had submitted to the little devil spawn.

Thad put a hand on Seb's shoulder and squeezed it, smiling sadly as Seb subconsciously reached up to lay his hand over Thad's. The two of them had been roommates when Seb first came to Dalton. He had been one of the first people to see Sebastian's softer side. The boy had a killer bitch mask, but underneath he was sweet. Thad and Sebastian had quickly formed a friendship. They knew things about each other that no one else did. Sebastian and David were the only ones that knew the truth of how Seb had REALLY gotten his position as captain. Sebastian had originally been a new member on council, as nominated by Thad and elected by the other Warblers. Everyone thought after that Seb had just...taken over. Gotten power-hungry and dominated. But that was a lie. The truth was a secret Thad had tried to keep from the Warblers, and the reason he was held back a year. Thad had been sick. VERY sick. When he was born, his heart had not fully formed correctly. The doctors had not known at the time. For years, he was seemingly fine. Sure, he had a few small problems, but never anything major. Then, early in his senior year, he'd started feeling off. He went to the doctor and they'd discovered a heart mummer, which later turned out to be an Atrial Septal Defect, or ASD. The doctors needed to run more tests to see how severe it was, but until then they told Thad not to strain himself. Sebastian had taken over as the head of Warblers. It was supposed to be a temporary thing, but it was soon discovered that Thad's ASD was quite severe and would need to be fixed with surgery. This caused him to miss school and be unable to lead the Warblers. His surgery took a while to be scheduled and once it was over he was laid out for a month. And then it got worse. Complications and problems from the surgery came up and he was out of commission even longer. It had taken him all summer to regain his former strength. He was held back to redo his senior year. He'd told the Warblers that he'd been seeing the world with his family, not wanting them to know about his illness. Seb and David were the only ones who knew the truth. That was, until Hunter had found his medical files. He'd blackmailed Thad, saying he'd post the truth if Thad didn't do as he said. Taking the steroids was dangerous, as he was still on medication for his condition and healing, but he had no choice. Hunter had also silently held Sebastian's safety over his head. Thad and Sebastian had been roommates at the beginning of the year, but when Hunter transferred, he'd taken Seb as his roommate, claiming he 'wanted his co-captain always at his side'. It wasn't a spoken formal threat, but it was understood that Hunter being close to Sebastian gave him even more power over Thad.

Wes looked around at all his injured brothers and growled, jaw clenching "Hunter is going to DIE! NO ONE hurts my fledglings and gets away with it!"

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**Hope you like this. Not ALL backstories have been told, but don't worry my dears. They will come to light with time.**

**Thank you for all the love. Please keep reviewing and giving me ideas and your opinions. **


	8. ND Knows

There was a sudden crash as someone dropped a cup near them. They looked up and saw the unholy trinity staring at Sebastian with wide eyes.

Seb gulped and looked at them. "You heard?"

Quinn nodded, "Every word."

Brittany went slowly over and wrapped her arms around Sebastian in a tight hug. "Don't cry little dolphin birdie. That mean man can't hurt you anymore. You can fly now. You can fly away and be free and sing again."

Seb laughed and hugged her back. He pulled away with a watery smile. "Thank you Brittany. That...you saying that means a lot to me...to US." He brushed some hair from her eyes. "And no matter what anyone, including us in the past, have said or will say... you're a really smart girl."

Santana smirked towards Sebastian. THIS boy she could see being friends with. He was still bitchy enough to keep up with her, but there was a softer side underneath.

Quinn went and was talking hurriedly with the other glee kids. All kept glancing over at the Warblers. Quinn was obviously reiterating all of Sebastian's words. Blaine looked about ready to vomit, and Kurt was gaping in shock.

Puck, not being close enough to hear her, suddenly shouted,"I don't even know what the hell we're doing here! Why should we even TRY to be civil with these criminal assholes!?"

Wes's blood boiled and he made to stand and go smack some sense into that boy. How DARE he speak of his brothers that way!

Quinn, however, beat him to it. She stormed over to Puck and open-handed bitch slapped him right across the face with a solid THWACK! She yelled at him, "You're one to talk, Mr 'I've been to juvie twice'. Mr. ' I sold POT BROWNIES at a school bake sale'. Mr. 'I convinced my buddies to take vitamin D in excess just to win a stupid IN CLASS battle of the sexes' You have the balls to call THEM criminals!? OH! That is RICH coming from you! Don't judge them until you know what they've had to go through with Hunter! If Shelby did that, you'd never have seen Beth again after she was born! Heck! If I'd judged you without getting to know you, you'd never have knocked me up in the first place!"

Puck was frozen in shock and horror. Slowly a blush crept to his cheeks at Quinn's words. He was being shamed by his ex-almost-girlfriend in the middle of the Lima Bean. The worst part was that what the blonde was saying was all completely true. His eyes drifted to the floor in embarrassment and he fidgeted nervously.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!" Quinn shrieked, forcing his chin up so he was looking her dead in the eyes.

Puck gulped, looking about ready to piss himself. "Y-Yes Sir! SHIT! MADAM! I meant Yes MADAM!" He corrected himself hurriedly.

Quinn glared at him. "Apologize! NOW!"

"Sorry Quinnie" Puck said quickly.

Quinn shook her head. "NOT to me." She growled. She pointed to the Warblers, "To THEM! Say you're sorry to the Warblers RIGHT THIS MINUTE or I swear to GOD Noah..."

"OK!" Puck agreed hurriedly. He looked over at the Warblers "Sry..." He mumbled.

"WHAT was that?" Quinn looked at him scornfully, "I can't hear you"

"Said 'm sorry..." Puck muttered, only slightly louder and barely being able to be heard.

"Louder..." Quinn urged him forcefully.

"I'm SORRY!" Puck practically yelled. "I shouldn't have said that! Judged you without talking to you and hearing the full story. I apologize. OK?"

A lot of the Warblers were trying hard not to laugh at the scene that had just played out before them.

Wes was smiling softly, silently impressed at Quinn. The small women had really gotten her foot down. It was scary. Awesomely so. He wouldn't go as far as to say he couldn't have done it as well or better himself, but it was indeed an intimidating display.

Seb chuckled and nodded to Puck. "Ya. It's cool Puckerman. You're offensive comment was MORE than made up for in the fact you just got owned by an ex-cheerleader in the middle of a public place."

Puck groaned and looked at Quinn. "Happy now?"

Quinn smirked. "Yes. Exceedingly so." She turned and raised her eyebrows at the other McKinley boys. "Anybody ELSE got any ill thought through sentiments or opinions they wanna say out loud? Speak now or forever hold tongues."

She was being sarcastic, but apparently Sam didn't know that. The blonde boy shook his head. "I'm just wondering how Wes could let this happen? Shouldn't he have put his foot down sooner and stopped it?"

Wes blushed and looked at the floor. He already felt guilty for taking so long. Sam was right. Why hadn't he been there?

Andy burst to his feet and glared at Sam. "HEY! Are you DEAF?! Seb just said NOBODY knew! That INCLUDES Wes! We were all to scared of Hunter to tell him what was happening. How was he supposed to stop something he had no clue was going on in the first place?!"

"Ya." Seb said, taking Wes's hand in his, "As soon as he knew, he came for us."

Wes smiled warmly at all of them. Here were his baby birds, standing up for him. It did him proud.

Sam looked sheepish, wishing he had kept his big trouty-mouth shut.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Maybe Quinn should've been blunter. Until you pin brained morons understand what ACTUALLY happened, please, for the love of GOD, just zip your lips so nothing stupid slips."

"Well," Rachel huffed, "I still say that the need to use steroids just proves the Warblers insecurity and the extreme superiority of the New Directions. If you had to turn to drugs and dirty play to win against us at our Sectionals, I really don't see why...MGFPH!"

She was silenced as Santana shoved an apple into her mouth. "That warning was for you too, Bitty Berry."

Rachel glared as she pulled the offending fruit from her mouth. "Fine. I'll be quiet. But SERIOUSLY?! You could've just yelled or put your hand over my mouth. Was the abusive use of produce REALLY necessary!?"

Santana thought for a moment, before shrugging with a smirk. "Nope! That was purely for my pleasure!"

The New Directions and Warblers laughed at the indignant face Rachel made before she huffed and went to order herself, ironically enough, a hot apple cider.


	9. Things go NUTS

**This is a bit of a longer chapter...but I think it's a good one ;D**

**Warnings for Medical emergency...that's all I'll say. There are also some terms used in this chapter that you might need to look up or ask me about. Other than that...I think we're good.**

**OH! And don't HATE me...but this one's a cliffhanger! And I'm not gonna be posting for a few days while I finish the next chapter and deal with some stuff if my life. **

**Love you ALL and hope you like this chapter ;D**

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Once all the New Directions had their drinks, the two groups settled down to listen to the stories of Hunter's evil doings and discuss things. There were occasional cries of, "WHAT?", "He DID THAT?!", "You're KIDDING, right?!", and quiet a few cuss words.

"I...We...wow." Sam said softly, "When Trent said he was forcing you guys...I never imagined THAT!"

"You weren't supposed to." Lincoln said, "Hunter was just THAT good at covering his tail."

"So, he has NO IDEA you guys are here?" Artie clarified.

David nodded. "Yup and when he finds out, there is going to be hell to pay."

Marley reached across her tables to where Thad was sitting across from her and took his hand. "He...aren't you scared?"

"Petrified." Thad shivered, "But this is the right thing to do. We HAVE to stand up to Hunter."

"I should've seen it when I came back for the trophy and stopped him!" Blaine cursed himself, "I can't believe that damn spell binder had me bamboozled!"

"That's what he does." Trent shrugged, "Honestly, half of us were hoping you'd say yes and come back, thinking things would get better if you were there. The others knew nothing would change and were silently begging you to run, using every counter-psychology technique they knew to turn you off. Thank GOD it worked! If Hunter had gotten YOU too..." He shivered at the thought.

"Man.." Kurt muttered, "And I thought Sebastian was an ass!"

"KURT!" Mercedes scolded, but Seb was laughing.

"No! No, he's right. I WAS an ass. A snarky, cheeky ass with a firm cheeky ass."

Kurt did a spit take on his coffee and cackled at the comment. "Ok! Even I have to admit THAT was good!" He high-fived Seb, both boys still laughing, until they both froze in silent shock, staring at their hands as what they had just done hit home.

"Did we just..." Kurt said softly.

Seb nodded. "Ya... this is..."

"Weird." they both said at the same time, clapping hands to their mouths at the jinx.

Rachel gaped. "Kurt and Seb in sync...the apocalypse has begun."

The New Directions and Warblers alike got over their shock and laughed at the looks of matched horror on Seb and Kurt's faces.

Seb smirked softly and held out his hand to Kurt. "Truce?"

Kurt smiled deviously and shook his head. "No." He waited for the boy to start looking scared before laughing and taking Seb's hand. "Not a truce. Let's call it...a probational friendship?"

Seb beamed and nodded, shaking Kurt's hand. "Deal."

Wes smiled. This was going better than he could ever have hoped it could. He just hoped it would last.

"So," Trent smiled, "It's settled then. You guys are testifying against Hunter and we're all friends again."

Seb nodded and raised his cup in a toast. "To the New Directions!"

"To the Warblers!" Blaine said, joining the toast.

"To Friendships, new and rekindled!" Thad laughed, raising his glass.

Andy climbed on a table and raised his mug above his head as he yelled, "To kicking Hunter's ASS in court!"

They all laughed and cheered and clapped.

They all settled down and started in on relaxed conversation, sipping at their drinks and talking.

"Hey Sebastian." Kurt said, "They were having this special up front and the barista gave me a cookie with my coffee. I haven't eaten anything with THAT much fat and sugar in YEARS and I REALLY don't wanna start now. You want it?" He offered the sweet out to Sebastian.

Sebastian chuckled. "Trying to fatten me up Hummel? Get rid of your sexiest competition? Or maybe you're secretly MADLY in love with me and this is a desperately masked attempt to... "

Kurt rolled his eyes, "It's just a cookie Seb. You want it or not?"

Seb smirked and took the cookie. "Ya, I do. Thanks."

Kurt smiled. "You're welcome."

Seb nodded and put the cookie down in front of him. "So, are you and Killer FINALLY back together?"

"We're working on it." Both Blaine and Kurt said in unison.

Seb snorted. "Which is Klaine-bow code for 'we're screwing each other like rabbits behind the scenes and don't want anyone to know yet.'."

Kurt and Blaine were both a DEEP scarlet.

"Oh my god," Kurt groaned, "Can you ever say ANYTHING that's not offensive or profane?"

Seb smirked. "Can SHE?" Seb pointed over at Santana, who was now ranting in fluent Spanish about all the things she was going to do to Hunter.

Kurt smiled, seeing his point. "Yes, but it's not Santana if she doesn't try to crack at least ONE insult or innuendo."

Seb nodded. "And I am the same way." He picked up the cookie and took a bite, chewing and swallowing as he spoke. "I am who I am, and nothing anyone can do or say will..." He stopped suddenly, a look of pure terror rushing onto his face.

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed. "Bas? What's wrong?"

Seb's breath hitched and he dropped the cookie. "Hazelnut."

"Excuse me?" Blaine said, confused, "Did you just say HAZELNUT?"

Thad whipped around at the words. "WHAT!?" He hurried to Seb's side, "Bas, what happened?"

Seb was starting to wheeze. "The cookie...it's chocolate hazelnut...I didn't know...ate it...Swallow." He started clutching at the front of his shirt.

Thad swore and whipped around to look at David. "GET HIS BAG! NOW!"

David didn't question Thad. He dashed off to get Seb's bag, not sure what was going on, but knowing it was bad.

Seb was coughing and scratching at his throat. He tried to get up, but he swayed and his legs suddenly went out from under him.

Thad darted out and caught him. He lowered Seb so he was laying on the floor. He loosened Seb's tie and undid the first few buttons of the shirt. He ran his fingers softly through the panicking boy's hair. "Ssshhh. You're ok Bas. You're gonna be just fine."

Rachel gasped in recognition and shot up. "OH MY GOD!" She ran over to them and knelt at Seb's side. She looked at Thad. "How severe?"

Thad gulped. "Very. He's always so careful..."

"What's going on?!" Wes said, suddenly RIGHT there.

"He's having an allergic reaction." Rachel said, "I know because I've had them. It must've been something is the cookie Kurt gave him..."

"Hazelnuts." Thad said. "He's allergic to hazelnuts. The cookie was chocolate hazelnut."

Lincoln glared at Kurt."Why would you do that?"

Andy slapped him Lincoln upside the head, "He didn't do it ON PURPOSE, idiot! Look! He's freaking out just as much as the rest of us!"

Thad nodded, eyes never leaving Sebastian as he tried to calm the boy down, "He should've probably ASKED first, but odds were Seb wouldn't have told him. Before all this, I was the ONLY one who knew. Seb doesn't like people knowing. He doesn't like people seeing him weak. Kurt didn't know. It was a stupid, honest, human mistake."

"A mistake that might cost Seb his life." Jeff said softly.

All possible color drained out of Kurt's entire being. He'd just given Seb something that could kill him. He'd been trying to be NICE...and THIS happened? He gulped and did something he had rarely done anymore since he was 8. He clasped his hands together tightly under the table and PRAYED under his breath.

Trent's eyebrows shot up his horrified face. "The Atheist is begging god. This is officially BAD!"

"You THINK?" Santana said sarcastically. She looked at all the others. "WELL?! Don't just stand there like gaping guppies! HELP OUT! If you can't help medically, get out your freaking phones, call 911, and go outside."

Many of the New Directions and Warblers nodded and hurried outside.

Mr Shuester knelt with the small group and took Seb's wrist, checking the boy's pulse. "Shit! His heart beat is going nuts...PUN NOT INTENDED!"

"Thad..." Sebastian gasped out, tears spilling from his eyes, which were clenched shut in agony, "Can't...breathe."

Thad's heart pounded, but he tried to stay calm for Seb's sake. Him panicking and having his own medical emergency would do NOTHING for his friend. He continued to run his hand's through Seb's hair. "Ssshhh. It's ok baby. Just relax. You're gonna be fine."

David came running back in. "THAD! The bag is in Seb's car and the doors are all locked. I need the keys."

"No time." Wes said, "He's in anaphylaxis. His airways are closing off. He needs his epinephrine NOW!"

"Here!" Rachel said. She reached into her bag and pulled out an epipen. She gave it to Thad. "Use one of mine. My dads always make me carry a spare."

Thad nodded in thanks as he quickly got the device set up. He was fast with it, having practiced obsessively and taken some classes when he found out about Seb's allergy. "I need to get access to his thigh so I can..."

He hadn't even finished when Puck was suddenly pulling out a pocket knife and cutting a slit in Seb's pant leg. "Does that work?" He asked hopefully.

Thad nodded. "Yes, thanks." He was happy Seb could keep his dignity and did not have to have his pants stripped off in the middle of the Lima bean. Thad wound up slightly and gently but firmly swung the epipen into Seb's thigh just as he'd been taught.

Seb yipped in pain. Wes hushed him and soothed him, though the sound was likely a good thing.

Thad held the epipen for 10 seconds before pulling it out and rubbing the spot. "Please work...PLEASE work."

Within a minute, Seb's breathing started to ease a little. All who were still inside sighed in relief.

Wes gently stroked Seb's flushed cheek. "You're ok now. You're gonna be fine. I'm so sorry. I said I'd keep you safe and.."

"Wes?" Seb croaked weakly, lisping slightly on his swollen tongue.

"Yes Sebastian." Wes said softly.

"Shut up." he slurred. A small crooked smirk made its way onto Seb's face.

Wes laughed. Seb was back-sassing him! He was ok.

Seb shivered. "Cold..."

Rachel picked up Seb's feet and put them in her lap. "Just in case that's a sign of shock, THIS is supposed to help."

Seb nodded, eyes still closed. They opened, however, when he felt a warm, vanilla scented weight be laid over him. He looked to see Kurt, in tears of guilt, relief, and fear, sitting next to him and covering Sebastian with his coat. "Kurt..." He wheezed, "You don't have to..."

"Yes I do." Kurt said, "This is all my fault. I could've killed you. I almost did! I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. So please, just hush and relax and let me try to attempt to apologize and..."

"Kurt...shut up" Seb chuckled, his voice breathy.

Kurt nodded and was quiet.

Seb sighed, "This just make us even..."

"NO!" Kurt said, "Don't talk like that! You NEVER did anything like this..."

He was cut off by the sound of sirens.

"Thank god." Mr Shue muttered. "Helps on the way."

Wes nodded. "Ya. We should be...Bas?!" His heart leaped as he saw Sebastian's eyes slowly drifting closed, "Hey! No, look at me! BAS! NO! Keep your eyes open! You need to stay awake! BAS!"

Sebastian didn't seem to hear him. His eyes rolled back and slipped shut as his head lulled to the side.

"BAZZY!" Thad screeched, crawling up and taking Seb's face in his hands. "Bas?! Sebastian, can you hear me!?"

Kurt was shaking. "Oh god...I killed him! I actually killed Sebastian!"

Mr Shue shook his head. "No, he still has a pulse."

Rachel waved a hand in front of Seb's mouth and nose. "And he's breathing. Granted, its SCARY shallow still, but he's breathing. He's unconscious, not dead."

Kurt sighed in relief. Seb was, at the very least, alive.

Thad, however, still seemed panicked. "Scary shallow is right. Without being awake and making a conscious effort to breath, he might stop soon. Like, full on respiratory arrest. "

"You took a CPR course!" David suggested, "Just do that breathing thing they taught you!"

Thad didn't even hesitate. Before David had finished his sentence, Thad had tipped Seb's chin back and fixed his mouth over Sebastian's, doing the rescue breaths as if BOTH their lives depended on it.

Wes blinked in surprise. That was fast. Thad hadn't even had to think about it. He had just acted. Wes wondered if there was more behind the action than simple first aid.

Seb's chest rose and fell with the air being pushed into his lungs. He was still out cold.

The paramedics ran in and were quickly pushing them all aside. Kurt and Rachel stepped away, joining hands. Blaine was hugging Kurt from behind. All the New Directions who weren't outside gathered around them. Shuester went to stand with his students and calm them down. Wes and Thad answered all the paramedics questions. Thad was wrapped tightly in Wes's arms, crying. Nick and Jeff had gone outside to call Mrs. Mirren and tell her what had happened. All the rest of he Warblers were either outside waiting or trying to keep curious bystanders back and away from the scene. David nearly punched a guy who had taken a picture. Trent was talking to the barista, seeming to be rather upset about something.

The paramedics placed a bag valve mask over Seb's face and squeezed the bag. They talked back and forth in medical jargon that most of the New Directions and Warblers didn't understand. They lifted Seb onto a gurney and strapped him down.

"Please don't," Thad whispered, "He has Merinthophobia. If he wakes up strapped to the gurney, he'll panic."

One of the paramedics nodded and undid all the straps except two around Seb's chest and waist. "Better? I need to keep at least a few fastened so he doesn't fall off. Like a seatbelt."

Thad got up and went over. Gently, he pulled Sebastian's arms out from under the straps, placing them at the boy's sides, "There. That's good. As long as he can moved his arms, he should be ok."

The paramedic nodded. "If he panics, we just move his arms to show him he's free, correct?"

Thad nodded, "That usually works." He looked at all the confused faces around the room. "Merinthophobia: The fear of getting tied up and/or restrained."

The others nodded, understanding.

The paramedics looked around at the groups. "Ok. We can let one person, two people at MOST ride with him. The rest of you can follow in your cars to Lima Memorial. Who's going with?"

"Mr Shuester should" Finn said, "He's the adult here."

Mr Shuester protested before any of the Warblers could. "No Finn. I'm not the one responsible for Sebastian. I'm YOUR coach." He pointed to Wes, "HE is Sebastian's coach. I'd ride if it was one of you, but it's not. If anyone should be riding with Sebastian, it's Wes."

Wes nodded in thanks. "My thoughts exactly"

The paramedics nodded. "Ok. Who else?"

"Thad." Kurt and Blaine said in unison.

Thad looked at them, surprised. "Huh?"

Blaine went forward and took Thad's hand, bringing it over to be holding Sebastian's. "You're obviously REALLY close with him. You knew 'Hazelnut' meant he was having a reaction. You knew about his merinthophobia. You obviously care about him."

"And he cares about you." Kurt said, "Whenever you were talking or touching him or he was looking at you, he calmed down. He trusts you. He NEEDS you. GO!"

Thad nodded. "Right. ok."

The paramedic smiled. "I was just about to say the same thing. Ok! We've wasted enough time already here. LET'S MOVE PEOPLE!"

They rolled Sebastian out, Thad still clinging to his hand.

Wes followed, glancing back. "DAVID! TRENT! You're in charge! Meet us there!"

The two saluted and gathered the Warblers.

Mr. Shuester gathered his kids. There were some kids who had to go home and couldn't follow to the hospital, but would instead be kept updated by texts. The rest of them were going. They all hurried to their cars and were gone within minutes.

The Warblers were the same. Those had driven took their cars. Those who had ridden with Seb, Thad, or Wes rode with Trent. It was decided that they'd lock and leave Thad and Wes's cars to be picked up later. Seb's car was already locked. They were off as quickly as the New Directions.

In the ambulance, Wes was up front with the driver, looking back at the cab. Seb was hooked up to many monitors, the paramedic with the Bag Valve Mask squeezing the bag to help keep him breathing. Thad was sitting next to him, holding his hand and muttering softly to him when he started to look distressed in his slumber.

"He'll be fine." The Paramedics assured both the worried Warblers, keeping Seb breathing and monitoring his vitals. They believed it. They wouldn't let this poor child be anything OTHER than fine!

"You'll be fine" Thad assured the unconscious Sebastian softly, squeezing the boy's hand softly. He logically knew Seb probably couldn't hear him, but he like to believe he could.

"They'll be fine" Wes muttered softly, leaning back in his seat. He was thinking of more than just the medical emergency happening behind him. He thought of all his Warbler brothers. Of Hunter and all he'd done.

Secretly, he wondered if those words would ever be true.


	10. Angel Wings

_Italics: Thoughts_

**Bold: Singing/Song Lyrics**

**...**

**I don't own the song used in this chapter.**

**Song Credits:**

**"Goodnight My Angel" by Billy Joel**

**A line of "No Good Deed" From Wicked**

**...**

**Answering a few questions:**

**1) No. Thad and Seb are not dating...yet.**

**2) No. I don't have a nut allergy. I have A LOT of food allergies, but no nuts. Mostly, I know people who do and I did A LOT of research**

**3)No. Hunter didn't send the cookie to Seb...that we KNOW of. I like that idea...and MAY use it for something later ;D**

**...**

**This is an unusually long chapter to make up for leaving you poor babies hanging like that.**

**Warning for a SLIGHT political statement I'm making in this chapter. See if you can spot it ;D**

* * *

It was 4 hours later, and Thad sat at Seb's bedside, holding his hand. The boy was still asleep, but he was going to be ok. He had multiple IV's running and an oxygen mask over his face. He'd been on a ventilator to help him breathe the first few hours, but then the stubborn little idiot had started fighting the machine. They'd turn it down a few settings so, while it was still providing oxygen and encouraging his breathing, it wasn't forcing the air into his lung. Seb was breathing on his own, a blessing Thad would never take for granted again. The only sound in the room was the soft hum of the machines and the beeping of the heart monitors.

Wes was outside with the Dean, trying to get ahold of Seb's parents. The Dean was trying to get ahold of his mother, who was in France. Wes was trying to get ahold of his father, who was out-of-state working a case. Neither were close enough to do anything or even get there before Seb was released, but they deserved to know their son was in the hospital.

All the other Warblers and The New Directions were down in the Cafeteria getting dinner. Thad had stayed with Seb, however, wanting to be sure he was there when the boy woke up. He wasn't that hungry anyway.

There was a knock at the door. Thad looked up to see Blaine coming in with a tray of food. He shut the door quietly behind him. "He still asleep?"

Thad nodded. "Doctors have him on some meds that might be keeping him out, but not a lot. He'll wake up when he's ready...hopefully soon." He nodded to the tray, "What you got there?"

Blaine smiled and put the tray down on Thad's lap. "Your dinner. And DON'T try any of that 'not hungry' bullshit. I KNOW you Thad. You eat, like, twice your body weight every day! Kurt and I knew you weren't gonna leave Seb's side, so we took the liberty of putting together a NOT completely crappy meal for you."

Thad laughed softly, "Thanks. I guess I am a little..." his stomach finished the sentence for him, growling loud enough to echo slightly in the room.

Thad and Blaine looked at each other for a second before cracking up.

"Ya. 'a little hungry' is an understatement!" Blaine snorted, "EAT! Before your stomach stages a mutiny!"

Thad laughed and dug into his food.

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Blaine cleared his throat, "So...there was something else I wanted to talk to you about..."

Thad froze, a bite of potatoes inches from his mouth and put it down. "And that would be...what exactly?"

Blaine smiled shyly, "You like him, don't you? Sebastian I mean. You have...feelings for him."

Thad's eyes widened. "What?! No...I...it's...there's...we're not...I don't..."

Blaine chuckled. "It's ok. I can see it. You don't have to lie. I may be oblivious when it comes to MY love life, but I'm fairly good at picking it up when its other people." He looked to Sebastian, "I see the way you look at him. The way you talk to him. The way you freaked out differently than everyone else. You were scared in a different way than the rest of us. You were terrified of losing him, and not just as a friend. He's MORE than your best friend or ex-roommate. You're in love with him."

Thad blushed, mouth hanging open as he tried to come up with an excuse, stuttering out gibberish and guttural. He looked back and forth between Sebastian and Blaine. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh my god...I AM, aren't I?"

Blaine smiled and put a hand on Thad's knee. "Yes...yes you are."

Thad's eyes shot open and he looked at Blaine in near panic. "You CAN'T tell him! Please, I don't want him to know. It'll just make things REALLY weird. Maybe someday soon, but...not now."

Blaine frowned. "I...of course. I won't say a word about it to him. It's not my secret to tell. But...I really think you should tell him."

Thad sighed. "I will...eventually. Just...not yet. I...I'm not sure ANY of us are ready for something like that."

Blaine nodded. "I understand. I'd never out anyone before they were ready, in ANY way. A secret is a secret."

Thad smiled softly, "Thank you Blaine. And...you can tell the others if you REALLY want to. I know you, and it may literally KILL you if you don't. Just..." He glanced at Seb, "Not him. Don't tell him. Only I get to do that."

Blaine nodded. "Ok. I understand. Just...don't wait too long, ok? I really think the best way to help him heal...to help BOTH of you heal...is to have someone like that in your life. To have each other like that in your life."

Thad nodded, about to say something when he suddenly sat up straighter in his seat, gasping in surprise.

Blaine jumped. "Thad? Is something wrong?"

Thad shook his head and looked to Sebastian. "He...I'm not sure...but I think he just squeezed my hand. I think he might be waking up."

Blaine's eyes widened and he made to stand. "Should I go get the others?"

Thad stopped him. "No, not yet. It might just be a false alarm. Me overreacting. But, even if he is waking up, I don't wanna overwhelm him with a bunch of people right when he wakes up. You can text Wes though. Just in case."

Blaine nodded and pulled out his phone. "Kurt too? He's been freaking out non-stop." He shook his head, "Caught him in one of the bathrooms with Rachel, crying and BREATHING INTO A PAPER BAG!"

Thad's eyebrows skyrocketed. "Ya...I'd call him. Like...NOW!"

Blaine quickly texted Wes and Kurt as Thad put his tray on the floor. He got up and went to sit on the edge of Sebastian's bed, never letting go of his hand. With his free hand, Thad brushed some hair from Seb's eyes. "Hey." He said softly, "I don't know if you can hear me buddy but...if you can...can you wake up for me please? We're all really scared here. Come on Bas. Just open those gorgeous green eyes."

As if on cue, Seb's eyes fluttered in his sleep. He was still out, but he seemed to be trying to fight his way awake.

Thad smiled and tightened his hold on Seb's hand. "There you go baby. Come on back to me. You're ok now."

Wes hurried into the room. "Is he..."

"Still asleep," Thad reported, glancing back at Wes for a second before returning his gaze to Sebastian, "But he's trying Wes. He's REALLY trying to wake up. I can see it. He squeezed my hand and a few seconds ago, when I mention him opening his eyes, his eyes moved."

Wes nodded, smiling. "That's great."

"Any luck with getting his dad?" Blaine asked.

Wes sighed. "Ya. He's freaking out and asked me a million questions I didn't know the answers to. Said he'd be here ASAP...but turns out the soonest he can wrap up what he's doing and get a flight home is two weeks from tomorrow."

Thad sighed, "Well...at least he's trying. What about his Mom?"

Wes scoffed. "She's in France Thad. How do you THINK it's going? The Dean's been trying for over an hour now. The poor woman doesn't even know her son's been within 20 feet of a hazelnut."

Blaine winced. "She's gonna FREAK!"

Thad snorted. "No kidding."

Kurt then came rushing in, looking around wildly. "What happened? What did I miss?"

Blaine got up and went to wrap Kurt in his arms. "Calm down. Thad thinks Sebastian might be waking up. He's not awake yet but...oh Kurtie."

Kurt's face was splotched red and tear-stained. His bottom lip was bloody from biting it so hard. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. His hair was disheveled and completely un-Kurt-like. To put it bluntly, Kurt looked a desperate mess.

Kurt shivered. "This is my fault. I gave him the cookie. I could've killed him. I almost did. I should've known. If I would've just ASKED..."

"Should've, Could've, Would've can't do a damn." Blaine rubbed Kurt's back, quoting words he'd heard Wes say often. "The important part is that you're sorry. That it was an honest mistake. A freak accident. The most important part is that Seb is going to be just fine. I promise."

Kurt shook his head. "I didn't mean to...I swear if I'd known...GOD! I was trying to do something NICE! How did it backfire so badly?!"

**"No good deed goes unpunished..."** Blaine sang softly.

Wes glared softly. "Really Blaine? REALLY?!"

Blaine shrugged. "Just trying to diffuse the tension. I saw a chance and I took it."

Kurt nodded gently, "Thanks Blaine...but Wes is right. NOW isn't the best time to be singing Wicked."

Thad gasped in mock shock. "Did I just hear THE Mr Kurt 'Peacock' Hummel say that there is such a thing as a BAD time to sing Wicked?! What sort of witchcraft is this?! Has an ALIEN taken over his body?!"

Kurt rolled his eyes, but a small smile cracked his lips. "Shut up..." He muttered.

Thad laughed in triumph. "THERE it is! I KNEW I could get you to smile!"

Kurt glared playfully and flipped him off.

Thad smirked. "Oh, I know I'm number one. No need to tell me."

Kurt put a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh.

Wes snorted. "You really ARE Bas's roommate!"

Thad nodded. "Best Friend too." He blushed "And..."

He was interrupted by a soft groan coming from Sebastian.

Wes hurried forward to stand next to Thad. "Sebastian? Bas, you with us buddy?"

Sebastian's eyes were still closed, but he moved his head slightly in a weak sort of nod.

Thad let out a shuttering breath of relief, tear-welling eyes closed lightly as he whispered a small prayer under his breath. He brought his and Sebastian's joined hands to his mouth and kissed Bas's knuckles softly. He opened his eyes with a soft smile and brushed his fingers through Seb's bangs. "Can you try to open your eyes, Bazzy? Can you look at me?"

Seb moaned and slowly dragged his eyes open. Seb's sleep-blurred green met Thad's warm, tear filled brown. A small crooked smirk spread across his face under his breathing mask.

Wes chuckled. "Welcome back to the world of the waking little mockingbird."

Seb looked over at Wes, a little spark in his eye saying what he was too weak to say with words. '_Good to be back'_, they seemed to tease.

Thad laughed and caressed Seb's cheek. "You scared us Bas. I...we thought you were DEAD!"

"Sorry." Seb forced out. The effort sent him into a small coughing fit.

Kurt grabbed an unopened water bottle from his bag. "Wes." He said, tossing it.

Wes caught the bottle with ease. "Thanks!" He cracked the seal and handed it off to Thad.

Thad gently helped Seb move his mask off for a second and put the bottle to the boys lips. "Here honey. Sip slowly. Last thing we need is you choking on WATER!"

Seb nodded and drank. The cool water helped soothe his throat. He finished and let Thad resettle the mask over his face. "Thanks." he whispered hoarsely.

"Sssssh. Don't talk. Don't hurt yourself." Thad soothed, "Just relax. You're still fragile. No need to talk."

Seb nodded softly and gave them a thumbs up.

Kurt bit his lip, "Should I get the doctor or a nurse?"

Seb shook his head, but Wes nodded.

"Ya." The Asian said "That's a good idea."

Kurt nodded and made to leave, but Blaine stopped him.

"You stay." he said softly, "I'll go get them."

Kurt gulped and nodded, half afraid to be alone in this room with the Warblers. He didn't say it though, and Blaine left. That when he started to feel REALLY afraid. He was alone with them. Sebastian: The boys he nearly killed. Thad: The best friend, ex-roommate, and OBVIOUS love interest of Sebastian. And Wes: Big Brother Bird with a near death fledgling. Seb couldn't hurt him, but Thad and Wes could. Would they? He didn't know. Maybe? No! Yes! No! But...

He felt arms around him and shrieked, jumping away on instinct.

"Shit!" Wes said, holding up his hands in surrender, "Sorry Peacock. Forgot you do that if you're hugged from behind."

"I-It's f-fine" Kurt stuttered, catching his breath.

"No it's not." Wes said, shaking his head, "I should've remembered."

Kurt snorted. "Wes, it's been over a year. I'd be AMAZED if you remembered all our little quirks. It was an accident. Not your fault."

Wes nodded, but then a soft grinned crossed his face. "Exactly! I didn't know...You didn't either."

Kurt was confused, but then realized what Wes was talking about: Sebastian's reaction. It wasn't his fault. A freak accident. Still...

Kurt sighed and shook his head. "No Wes. THAT is different! Hugging me from behind...yes, that makes me panic, which isn't good. But me giving Seb that stupid cookie? THAT could've KILLED him! I could've killed him! I almost DID kill him! If Thad hadn't known and Rachel hadn't known and they hadn't acted and Rachel hadn't had that epipen in her purse and Thad hadn't..."

Thad had heard enough. He went over and slapped Kurt across the face. Not hard, but enough to make him stop.

Wes gaped. '_What the heck just happened?_!'

Kurt blink in surprise, putting a hand to his slightly stinging cheek. He took a breath, calming. He chuckled softly and gave Thad a small smile. "Thanks Goldie. I think I needed that."

"You were sort of asking for it." Thad smirked. "No more of this blame game, ok? You didn't know about the allergy. Granted, if you'd asked..."

"He still wouldn't have known." Came a voice in the doorway. They looked up to see Trent, looking pissed.

Wes frowned. "What do you mean Sassy bird?"

Thad nodded. "Ya. If it came down to it, Seb might've told him...or just not eaten the cookie if he knew it was hazelnut..."

"THAT," Trent said, snapping onto Thad's words, "Is EXACTLY what I mean!" He looked to Kurt. "What did the barista tell you about the cookie?"

Kurt thought hard. "Um...that it was a special...that is was...a new recipe they were trying...that if I didn't like it not to complain and just throw it away..."

"NO mention of flavor? Of INGREDIENTS?" Trent prodded.

Kurt shook his head. "No. I just sort of figured out it was a chocolate because it SMELLED and looked so much like one. I..." The realization hit Kurt like a brick wall. "That little BITCH never told me what was in it!"

"Bingo!" Trent praised, still angry. He looked to Wes. "I went up to ASK her about it...and she wouldn't tell me. Said it was some sort of 'secret recipe'. There was a boy DYING of an allergic reaction in front of her...and she wouldn't tell me! There was NO allergy warning on those cookies when there SERIOUSLY should've been! Do you KNOW how many people today have nut allergies?! And for them NOT to tell the customers there's NUTS in the dessert?! I'm FAIRLY certain that's ILLEGAL!"

"It's not." Thad sighed, "Laws don't require restaurants to have allergy warnings on their food. Yes, Trent, when you ASKED it was illegal. THAT is the only time she had to tell you. She'll get fired if you tell her superior she didn't answer you because the restaurant can be sued for Sebastian's reaction. But...when she gave it to Kurt...she didn't have to tell him."

"Because I didn't ask...though from the sound of it she wouldn't have told me anyway." Kurt said, "I had no reason to. I'm not allergic to nuts and I didn't know anyone else was."

"But..." Trent gulped as a thought came to him, "What if you were? What if ANY of us were? It didn't have to be Seb. That sort of behavior from the barista could put ALL of us in danger!"

Wes saw red. That women HAD put his brothers in danger. Sure, if it had been KURT eating the cookie, they'd have been fine because he wasn't allergic. But Trent's point rung true: What if he WAS? It could have been ANY of his boys in that bed. ANY of his brothers could've been that close to death. It made Wes feel an icky, nauseous twinge in his stomach he knew so well and hated so much: Helplessness. Wes was a fixer. He didn't like problems he couldn't fix or at least make better somehow. Things he couldn't control. This was one of those things. Something he couldn't protect his brother's from. It was one of those moments he was sick with the knowledge that, no matter how he tried, there were sometimes he couldn't save them.

Blaine returned with the doctor in that moment. The boys were all shooed out of the room. Blaine pulled Kurt off to tell The New Directions that Seb was awake. Trent had heard through Blaine when he'd been off looking for the doc while Trent had been looking for Wes. He now dragged Wes away to tell the other Warblers. Thad waited outside the door of Seb's room, refusing to leave. They came back a few minutes later with both respective groups in tow to find the door open and Thad inside, alone with Seb. He was sitting on the edge of Sebastian's bed, playing idly with the boys hair and talking to him softly.

Wes went over to stand by him. "What did the doctor say?"

Thad smiled softly. "He'll be fine. He'll stay here overnight at least...maybe a few days...and then we take him home to Dalton." He glanced at his watch and startled. "Sweet Pete! I didn't realize it was THAT late!" He looked back at the New Directions, "Shouldn't you guys be heading home soon?"

Shuester nodded. "Ya. We really should. We probably should've left earlier, but the kids wanted to be SURE Sebastian was ok."

Rachel hurried towards Seb's bedside. She stopped, glancing at Thad, seemingly asking his permission to approach Sebastian. When he nodded she went and sat next to Thad on the bed. She took Seb's hand and smiled down at him. "I'm glad you're ok Sebastian...and those are words I NEVER thought I'd saying!"

They all laughed, including Sebastian. He smiled and squeezed her hand. "Thank you," He rasped out. "You saved my life."

Rachel hushed him, "I only did what any decent human being would do if they could. Now hush up you. You'll KILL your vocal cords talking in your condition!"

Seb laughed and nodded.

Kurt walked timidly over. He bit his lip and stood by Rachel. "Sebastian...I'm so sorry. This is my fault. If I'd only known..."

Kurt stopped and looked down as he felt someone grab his hand. Seb had let go of Rachel's hand and taken Kurt's squeezing it. Kurt looked up and met his gaze. Seb's eyes said what he'd now been forbidden to say with words.

_"It's ok Kurt. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. I'm ok. It's fine."_

Kurt smiled softly, getting the message. "Has anyone ever told you that you have very expressive eyes?"

Seb sniggered and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, clearly making an innuendo.

Kurt snorted. "Walked RIGHT into that one, didn't I?"

Seb nodded and let go of his hand.

Each of the New Directions after that took their turns saying goodbye before heading home. Seb had gotten quite a few kisses on the forehead and cheek from several of the girls. The guys were less affectionate, but had the same sort of sentiments. By the end, Seb was exhausted again, but smiling. He may very well have been back on track to being the New Directions' friend.

After ND had left, the Warblers hung out for a while and talked. Soon enough, however, Wes noticed the eyes of quite a few Warblers, including Seb, were drooping tiredly. "Ok." He said, "I think it's time to head home. "

The warblers were all too tired to protest. Andy, however, did have a request.

"Brother Bird?" He asked, "Can we sing for Sebastian before we leave? We were working on something in the cafeteria earlier for him and we really want him to hear it."

Wes smiled. '_Well, if that isn't just the SWEETEST thing!' _ Wes nodded. "Sure" He said softly, "Of course you can."

Andy beamed and hurried to get the Warblers organized.

Lincoln went over to Thad. "May we borrow your pitch-pipe, Goldcrest?"

Thad chuckled and handed it to him. He looked at Seb's inquisitive expression. "I have no idea either."

The boys got all lined up. Lincoln played a note on the pitch-pipe. Andy counted them off and then they started to sing, Lincoln, Trent, and Andy taking the soloing.  
**"Goodnight, my angel**  
**Time to close your eyes**  
**And save these questions for another day**  
**I think I know what you've been asking me**  
**I think you know what I've been trying to say**  
**I promised I would never leave you**  
**And you should always know**  
**Wherever you may go**  
**No matter where you are**  
**I never will be far away"**

David, Nick, and Jeff soloed next, going over and helping Thad to tuck Seb in as they sang.  
**"Goodnight, my angel**  
**Now it's time to sleep**  
**And still so many things I want to say**  
**Remember all the songs you sang for me**  
**When we went sailing on an emerald bay**  
**And like a boat out on the ocean**  
**I'm rocking you to sleep**  
**The water's dark**  
**And deep inside this ancient heart**  
**You'll always be a part of me"**

Thad, knowing the song, sang the next solo part, smiling softly as the words drifted past his lips.  
**"Goodnight, my angel**  
**Now it's time to dream**  
**And dream how wonderful your life will be**  
**Someday your child may cry**  
**And if you sing this lullaby**  
**Then in your heart**  
**There will always be a part of me"**

The Warblers all sang the last piece together**.**  
**"Someday we'll all be gone**  
**But lullabies go on and on...**  
**They never die**  
**That's how you**  
**And I**  
**Will be"**

At the end of the song, Seb was fast asleep. Each Warbler bid him softly sweet dreams before leaving. Wes was going to stay the night there with Seb, but he insisted Thad go home. Before leaving, when all the other Warblers were gone, Seb was asleep, and Wes was in the bathroom, Thad slowly slipped off Seb's mask for a second and kissed him softly on the lips. He smiled as he put the mask back into place. "Goodnight, MY angel." He whispered softly. He went to the door, flipped the light off and left, closing the door softly behind him.


	11. Released

**Hi guys! Hope you're liking the story so far. Ok, so just to be clear, I'm not usually a 'upload a chapter everyday' type of author. Or even a "Upload on a semi-regular basis' type of author. I add chapters whenever they're done and I'm not busy. Hope that doesn't lose me any fans or followers. Just...I have a VERY busy life, so I have to prioritize. Anyway, I'm saying this because it's unlikely I'll be uploading a lot this week. We're opening our play, so I'm gonna be REALLY overly busy. So ya, fair warning.**

**...**

**Answering questions:**

**1) Unfortunately, Seb WAS asleep when Thad said he loved him AND when he kissed him. He has no idea Thad feels that way. Don't worry though...I've got BIG PLANS!**

**2)...there is no 2. I just feel weird writing 1 without a 2. Feel free to ask questions if you're confused. I LOVE to help and answer.**

**...**

**WARNING! This one is ANOTHER cliffhanger ending! I'll try not to keep you waiting to long this time.**

* * *

Two days later and Seb was being released. His room was filled to the brim with flowers and other assorted gifts from his friends and some family.

When they'd FINALLY gotten ahold of his mother, she had been in hysterics and it had taken hearing Seb's croaking voice telling her he was alright for her to believe it. She insisted on trying to find a flight to America from Paris. With the Steroids and now THIS? Her baby boy NEEDED his Mommy. Seb's only protest was time and money, which she quickly shot down saying she had all the time in the world for her child, and that money was no object. She'd be there around the same time as Seb's dad. They were working out plans for him to meet her at the airport and have them travel to Dalton together.

Thad was getting Seb's things together and Wes was getting all the forms and paper work done. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smythe had given Wes and Dean Mirren some basic guardian rights for when they couldn't be there. They trusted Wes and The Dean to take care of their son when they couldn't. As soon as Wes and Mrs. Mirren were done, the boys would go home.

Just as Thad was putting ANOTHER card into the designated box, there was a knock at the door. "It's open!" He called.

The door creaked open and a large, burly guy in an Ohio State sweatshirt stepped into the room. "Sorry...looking for a friend of mine..."

Seb looked up and beamed at the voice. "DK! You came!"

David Karofsky caught sight of Seb and smiled. "Bast!" He went over and hugged Seb gently. "I was worried about you man!"

Seb laughed. "I'm FINE. Granted, I wasn't before, but I am now."

Karofsky sighed. "Why do I get the feeling I've heard those words before?"

Seb smirked. "You haven't just heard them. You SAID them. Last year when I came to see you. After...after you..."

Dave hushed him. "We don't need to talk about THAT! What is past is past and gone...or some shit to that effect."

Seb laughed and hugged his friend. After the whole suicide thing, Seb had come to talk to him and apologize. David had assured him that it wasn't Sebastian's fault, something he was STILL doing to this day, as Seb still refused to believe it. After hanging out together a few times, the boys had become close. Dave was now one of Seb's best friends. Granted, he wasn't anywhere NEAR as close to Seb as Thad was, but still, he was a friend.

Thad felt a twist in his stomach. Jealousy. He logically knew Seb and Dave were JUST friends...but so were him and Seb now. That could easily change. He was afraid that things would change between Dave and Seb instead of Seb and himself. He cleared his throat to remind them they weren't alone in the room.

Dave started at the noise and pulled away. He looked at Thad again and blinked. "OH! Thad! Dude, I TOTALLY didn't recognize you out of uniform!"

Thad laughed. "Hi Dave. Nice to see you...and I don't look THAT different, do I?" He looked down at himself, wearing an oversized Dalton hoodie, light denim jeans, and ratty old sneakers. He'd worn casual clothes instead of his uniform, them being more comfortable for hanging out with Sebastian at the hospital.

"Sorry Thad, but you sort of do." Seb laughed, "You're so anal-retentive about your uniform. To see you in slacker clothes...well, it's a little weird."

"Hey!" Thad pouted, "I'm dressed almost the EXACT same way Dave is!"

"Yes." Dave nodded, "But I ALWAY dress this way. It's my style. It works on me: The big, bulky, overly muscular jock. You...not so much."

Thad glared softly, but deflated. "I guess you're right. I'm usually A LOT more put together. Just...today, I had more important places to put my energy." He gestured to Sebastian and then around the room.

Dave nodded. "Lotta shit to get loaded I see. Want some help?"

Thad shook his head. "Not yet...but soon maybe."

David nodded and went back to talking to Sebastian as Thad continued to pack things.

"So..." Seb drawled, "Anything new in our little bear-cub's love life?"

Dave turned a deep scarlet. "Well...um...yes."

Seb gasped and nearly squealed. "Oh my god! Are you serious? When? Who? What's he like? How did you meet? WHY have I not met him yet!?"

Dave laughed. "WOAH! One question at a TIME! Ok, YES, I'm serious. I met him a few months ago. His name is Jayke..."

"OH!" Seb said in realization. "The cute blonde you kept ranting about?"

Dave nodded, smiling. "Ya. That's him. As you said, I've ranted about him, so you know what he's like AND how we met. And as for why you haven't met him yet...I finally got the balls to ask him out the day THIS..." He gestured to the bed, "happened, so I had NO chance to tell one of my best friends I have a date."

Seb glared, "Oh hush you! You KNOW I didn't do this on purpose!"

David nodded. "I know. Frankly, I'd be worried for your sanity if you did."

Thad sighed and relaxed, the twist in his belly gone. Dave had a boyfriend. Seb and DK would stay just friends. He'd still have his chance to ask Seb out...when he was ready.

Seb smiled, "Wes got the incompetent bitch who poisoned me fired. Dad talked to the owner and they came to an agreement. Dad won't sue if the Lima Bean agrees to CLEARLY display allergen warnings on all of their food. The owner agreed instantly. She really did agree with Dad that it's dangerous not to have them. Medically for the customers and legally for the Lima Bean."

David laughed, "That's great! One more restaurant people with food restrictions can feel safe in."

Seb nodded, "It's a small victory...but it's still a step."

"Ya." Thad grumbled, "but did the ends justify the means?"

Dave and Seb looked at him confused.

Thad sighed. "I'm happy the Lima Bean is changing for the better...but was it really worth you having a reaction and nearly DYING? I don't think so. It doesn't balance out. I wish there were more positive to counteract the negative."

Sebastian and David were silent, unsure what to say. Then, Seb opened him arms. "Come here." He said softly.

Thad went over without hesitation and let himself be wrapped in Seb's arms. The smaller boy let out a breath and closed his eyes.

"I'm fine." Seb whispered, "I know you were scared, but PLEASE don't stay bitter about it. Though anger and hate do look well on you at times, this is NOT one of those times. You holding a grudge is an ugly thing."

"Except when it's Hunter..." Thad mumbled.

Sebastian snorted. "Ok. Yes. HUNTER doesn't count. But it's sort of impossible NOT to hate the guy!"

Thad nodded and pulled away, smiling. "Ya. What was it you said you put him in your phone as?"

Seb snorted. "Drill Sergeant Dip-wad. I was gonna do Dip-shit, but I censored it for the sake of the little boys who might see it."

Dave laughed. "That's clever."

"That's Bas." Thad smirked.

Sebastian blushed. "Shut up."

The group laughed and went on with the banter for about another half an hour before Thad finished packing the stuff up and Wes came to say that the paper work was done, and Seb would be released soon.

Dave had to leave after a bit...he had a date with Jayke that night. Seb and Thad teased him as he left while Wes rolled his eyes at his brothers' antics. All four were laughing as David left.

Wes clapped his hands. "Ok! Ready to go Bas?"

Sebastian scoffed. "Is that even a QUESTION?!"

Wes and Thad laughed.

Thad helped Seb get changed into his street clothes. Sweatpants he wore for Lacrosse practice. A T-Shirt from his old school in France. An old college sweatshirt of his dad's that was WAY to big for him. Beat up old socks and sneakers that'd probably give Kurt an aneurism if he saw them with the sheer LACK of fashionability.

Thad snorted. "Now you look as bad as me."

Bas pouted and flipped him off.

Thad laughed as Wes returned followed by a nurse with a wheelchair.

Seb screwed up his face. "Do I REALLY have to ride in that thing?"

"Hospital policy." Wes nodded.

Seb sighed and accepted defeat as the nurse disconnected all the IVs and machines and wires and monitors from him. He winced as some of the needles slipped from his skin. "Shit! How is it these things always seem to hurt more coming OUT than they do going IN? It makes no sense!"

Thad and Wes shrugged.

Soon enough, the nurse had finished. She started the try to lift Seb into his wheelchair, but he stopped her.

"Thank you, but no thank you." He said politely.

She didn't back off. "Honey, you're still a little fragile. You can't get into the chair by yourself. You need someone to help you..."

"THAT is what I have my family for." He said more sternly.

"Family?" She said, confused. "What Family? Your medical sheet mentions no siblings and your parents have yet to come and I heard no mention of Aunts or Uncles or cousins coming..."

"He means US!" Thad said forcefully, "WE are his family. We're standing RIGHT HERE!"

The nurse looked at him with that patronizing look adults often give to toddlers who don't understand something. "How exactly are you related honey?"

"Family doesn't end with blood." Wes said politely, though his tone was also slightly annoyed and threatening. "We are his brothers. We're taking him home. We can take care of him. THANK YOU for your help, but we can take it from here."

The woman blinked in surprise before letting go of Seb with a huff and strutting out of the room. She was clearly NOT use to having her authority questioned.

"Well, She was PLEASANT!" Seb said sarcastically.

Wes snorted. "Stubborn in the line of duty."

Thad rolled his eyes. "Well, she's gone now. Let's go."

Wes and Thad quickly and smoothly lifted Seb and got him settled into the chair.

Seb made a face. "As soon as we get to the car, I'm getting out of this thing and leaving it."

Wes nodded...but then got a devious look on his face. "Maybe you SHOULDN'T..."

Sebastian was about to protest, but then he saw the spark in Wes's eyes and smirked. "What are you thinking?"

Thad seemed to read Wes's mind and chuckled. "Just imagine how FREAKED OUT the guys would get if you showed up in a wheelchair! We could scare them SO BAD!"

Seb beamed. "You two are EVIL! I love it! We are SO doing it! I may HATE this chair, but I can NOT pass up a chance to pull such a beautiful prank!"

The boys all laughed as they made there way out of the hospital and to the car. Seb climbed in the back with Thad and they stashed the chair in the trunk. Wes got in front and they drove off for Dalton.

"The Dean is finalizing Hunter's expulsion." Wes reported, "He should be gone by the end of the week."

"That's GREAT!" Thad cried, "We'll never have to deal with that jerk again!"

Sebastian scoffed. "Ya, right."

Thad raised an eyebrow, "Something the matter?"

Sebastian sighed, "Just...he might be gone from Dalton, but he's not gonna be out of our lives. We're testifying against him at the trial...and he can find other ways to hurt us."

Thad bit his lip. Seb was right. Hunter could still hurt them in someways. They weren't safe yet.

Wes glanced at them in the rearview mirror. "Hey." He said gently, "You guys are gonna be fine. The Dean and I aren't going to let him hurt you..."

"And if he does you'll fix it." Seb finished, "We KNOW. But Wes...there are somethings even YOU can't fix!"

Wes's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I know. Trust me I know. But that doesn't mean I can't TRY."

Thad sighed. "Brother Bird...he didn't mean it like that..."

"I know how he meant it." Wes said gently, "I'm not mad at Seb. Just pissed at the situation."

Thad and Seb nodded. It really was a suckish situation, but there was nothing the boys could do to change it. They just had to ride out Hurricane Hunter and pray they survived the storm.

They shifted the conversation to lighter topics, quickly falling into planning their prank with the wheelchair. They'd have to start it right away when they got there in case some of the boys were watching for them. Soon enough they were parking in the Dalton lot and putting the plan into action.

Sebastian chuckled, "Ok. Let's do this!"

Wes got out and unloaded Seb's chair. Thad got out his side and walked around to open Bas's side. Sebastian steeled his face to a complete dead pan, even managing to force out a few crocodile tears for extra power. They were gonna milk this thing for all it was worth.

Thad poked his head in Seb's side and unbuckled him, making a big show of pretending to comfort the boy. He was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. His job was made easier looking at Sebastian. The boy was a talented actor, and if Thad hadn't helped plan the prank he'd likely have been one to fall the hardest for it.

Wes rolled over the chair, face completely solemn. He waited for Thad to back off a little before reaching into the car and picking up Seb, lifting him out of the car. He placed him gently into the chair. He bent down and wrapped the boy in a hug.

"Show time." He whispered softly, "Just remember what we agreed: Any of the boys start to get REALLY freaked out or upset, we end this ruse and tell them you're fine."

Seb's face never broke character, but he nodded. He made it look like Wes had just said something comforting, but made it clear he agreed with and understood what Wes had said.

The group of them made their way into the building. Thad was pushing Seb's chair the whole way. Wes walked slightly in front of them, pushing a shopping cart that carried all of Sebastian's stuff. They passed many students and staff, all of which looked on with expressions of distress. They obviously bought the trick. When they passed the Dean, they did wink at her to let HER know it was fake. She played along and shook her head in mock pity, but discreetly winked back to show she understood. A group of Seb's lacrosse friends hugged him and offered to take Seb's things up to Wes's room. Seb felt a bit of guilt for the lie once the boys had hurried with his things to help, but he knew them well enough to know they'd laugh at it as soon as they found out.

They got to the door of the Warbler commons. Inside, all the other Warblers were waiting for him. Now it was REALLY show time.

"You ready?" Thad asked.

Seb sighed melodramatically, "Let's get this done with."

Wes nodded and opened the doors.


	12. Party Crashers

**New characters introduced in this chapter. Just the basics for now. More information to come later.**

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**Got some writers block happening here. Feel free to send me any ideas or suggestions you have for this story. I can't promise I'll use them, but hearing what you guys are thinking always helps me think and write better.**

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**Also, how did you guys like this weeks Glee? OMG! I can't be the only one in tears and shock! I feel like my heart has gone through a meat grinder. SO BEAUTIFUL! Brilliant writing. *Applauds the writers and actors and producers and basically everyone associated with Glee***

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Inside the boys were waiting. Strung across the ceiling was a banner that read "Welcome Back Bas!". There was a snack table in the corner and assorted games throughout the room. The whole place was decked out for a coming home party. They were all anxious to see their brother.

"Where ARE they?" Andy whined.

"They'll be here soon." David comforted.

"NICK!" Jeff called, "You're SURE that you..."

"YES Jeffie!" Nick sighed, "Nothing at the snack table has anything that even closely relates to a nut in it. Nothing on that table has ever even TOUCHED a nut. Seb is safe."

"Pity the New Directions couldn't come." Lincoln said. "Granted, some of them were rather RUDE, but there were some nice people in there. And that Rachel chick did save Sebastian's life."

The boys all nodded. The New Directions had been busy with some performance or assignment or something, so they couldn't come. Maybe some other time.

Trent's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and squealed. "THEY'RE HERE! One of our scouts just texted me! Wes's car just pulled up!"

The Warblers had asked some people around campus to keep an eye out and tell them when the boys arrived. This was one of their smarter ideas.

"HURRY!" Niff cried together.

The boys rushed about, finishing getting things set up before getting themselves settled in their spots.

A few minutes later, the door swung open. The boys all sprung up to shout surprise. The words died on their lips as they all caught sight of the group entering.

Wes's face was stone solemn and unreadable. No emotion was in his near dead eyes. It was eerie to see him that way. Behind him was Thad and Sebastian. Thad looked angry as all hell. Like he wanted to find someone to blame...something to punch. Sebastian's face was a deadpan, but it was clear he had been crying. Worst of all...he was in a wheelchair.

"No..." Trent muttered softly in horror, "Oh god please no..."

David gulped. "But...I...this makes no SENSE! How did THIS happen?! How could...what could cause...I don't understand!"

Jeff was gaping in shock. "Bas..."

Nick had a hand clapped to his mouth and looked to be trembling.

Lincoln was wide-eyed and dead silent. He didn't want to believe this...but he did.

Andy timidly went forward. Slowly and carefully, he climbed onto Seb's lap and hugged Sebastian tightly. His amber eyes were brimming with tears as he looked up at Sebastian. "It's not fair. This shouldn't have happened to you. It's not right." His voice squeaked in distress, signaling he was on the edge of a breakdown. He'd been scared...they all had...and now this unexpected disaster was pushing him and the others over the edge.

Seb and Wes and Thad all made eye contact. They all seemed to be trying to agree on something.

Nick and Jeff drifted into each others arms as Nick started crying. Lincoln was balling his fist to punch something...likely the wall. Andy hid his face in Seb's neck and let out a sort of whimpering wail.

"Ok! That's enough." Seb said. "I didn't realize you guys cared THAT much. Otherwise I wouldn't have done this."

David looked confused, "Done what?"

Seb handed Andy off to Wes, who cradled and soothed the amber eyed boy. Then he looked around the room...and stood up.

There were gasps and cries of relief and shock before he was mobbed by a group hug.  
"You PRANKED us?!" Trent said in disbelief.

Seb laughed and pointed to Wes and Thad. "THEIR idea first. I just happened to like it."

Andy slapped Wes playfully on the back of the head. "Meanie!"

Wes laughed and nuzzled the boy. "Sorry Andy. Just couldn't resist."

Lincoln punched Thad gently in the arm, chuckling. "You three are JERKS!"

Thad laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "You KNOW you love us."

David shook his head. "How did I NOT see that coming?"

Jeff looked at Nick. "We just got OUT PRANKED!"

Nick nodded. "By Seb, Thad, and WES!"

They all laughed and hugged, happy their little family was again whole and for the most part undamaged.

They went dead silent as a slow, ominous clapping came from the hall. They looked up to see Hunter, leaning against the door frame, a wicked sneer plastered across his face.

"Great show." He crooned darkly, "Such a TRULY touching display!"

"You like it?" Wes glared, "Plenty more where THAT came from! If you were a TRUE warbler, you'd know that."

"No actually. That was sarcasm. Sorry, forgot you low lives think at a first grade level." Hunter snorted, screwing up his face, "I HATED it. Disgustingly over sweet and pathetic. You softies call yourselves a CHOIR? Ya! The chorus for BARNEY! I LITERALLY just lost my appetite and think I might vomit rainbows or something."

"At least something pretty would finally come out of your mouth..." Andy mumbled.

Hunter's eyes locked on him angrily, "WHAT was that?!"

Andy squeaked and cowered in Wes's arm.

David got in front of Wes and Andy. "Don't even THINK about it..."

Hunter scoffed. "You REALLY think you can STOP me? That's CUTE!"

David growled and swung at the boy. This was probably one of his few stupid decisions. He howled in pain as Hunter grabbed his arm and twisted it at awkward angles before throwing the African American super-senior to the floor with a solid THUNK!

Trent gasped and went to help David. He looked up at Hunter in disbelief. "You really ARE a monster!"

"And you really are a lightweight." Hunter shot back. "You quit because you couldn't take it. You were NEVER a Warbler, just a fucking PITY CASE! And you..."

"SHUT UP!" Seb yelled, "You're spouting nothing but LIES! Trent is more of a Warbler than you ever were or ever will be! More of a MAN too."

"Ah! Careful now Sebastian!" Hunter warned wickedly, "Watch what you say, or I MIGHT just have to say something to a certain...MUTUAL friend of ours..."

Seb turned a deathly pale and dropped silent.

"That's ENOUGH!" Came a voice. All the boys, including Hunter, whipped around to see Dean Mirren standing there, arms crossed, eyes near black in rage. She was shadowed by a pretty girl in a Crawford uniform, who was mirroring her almost exactly.

"You've said QUITE enough, Mr. Clarington!" Mrs Mirren snapped, "I have TRIED to be as fair and patient as I can with you, but I've had ENOUGH! The papers of your expulsion have been processed and approved. I was willing to give you till the end of the week, but you just blew that chance! You will pack your things TONIGHT and be on the FIRST bus off my campus tomorrow morning!"

"Ha!" Lincoln said, "Karma!" He grinned brightly...until he caught sight of Hunter's pinpoint pupils. The guy was going into a roid rage...and Lincoln had just taunted him. "Uh oh..." He squeaked.

Hunter roared and wound up to punch him, swinging his arm forward viciously.

Lincoln shut his eyes, bracing for impact...but it never came. He opened his eyes timidly and gaped at what he saw.

The Crawford girl was standing in front of him, not looking scared in the slightest. Hunter's fist was paused a mere three inches from her stoney face.

"Isabella..." The Dean said in horror, clearly fearing for the girl's safety.

Wes looked wide-eyed at the girl. THAT was Isabella?! No way! The last time he'd seen the Dean's little niece, she'd been a puny little awkward 7th grader who quacked when she was startled, hence why the Warblers of the time had nicknamed her 'Ducky'. Puberty had obviously been kind to her so far. She was a much more mature looking young woman now. If Wes had his math right, she was a Freshman now. And by the looks of it, she had grown to be rather stupidly brave.

Isabella growled, "I KNOW your type. The only sexist moral you have in your entire being is that you can't hit a girl."

Hunter didn't respond, but his hand was shaking.

The girl's eyes seemed to challenge him, "Go on. You KNOW you want to. What have you got to lose? You're already expelled. Just DO it! BE that guy!"

Hunter was twitching, clearly torn about what he should do.

Isabella advanced and Hunter backed up a few steps. "Go on!" She snapped, "Cross that line! HIT ME! I DARE you! HIT ME!"

Hunter cried out in anguish and punched the wall next to him instead, leaving a hole in the plaster. He grimaced and hurried for the door. He whipped back to glare at all of them darkly. "THIS ISN'T OVER!"

"Oh, I think it is!" Said another new voice.

Hunter whipped around in shock to see a man with scraggly dark hair walking past Mrs. Mirren towards him. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" he cried.

Wes beamed as he recognized the man. A friend of his from HIS days at Dalton. "Amiri." He chuckled, "I knew you'd show up eventually! Never could stand to see your friends suffer."

"Oh!" Hunter spat, "So you're ANOTHER alumni Warbler?"

"No." Amiri said sternly, "Alumni: Yes. Warbler: Never. I just have this funny thing where I actually give a crap about my classmates." He grabbed Hunter firmly by the wrist, "I'm here to make sure you actually get ON that bus tomorrow...and NEVER come back!"

Hunter shook him off. "I'm GOING, ok? Not like I wanna stay around this stupid prissy prep school any longer! You guys are all PATHETIC! For god's sakes, GROW SOME BALLS!"

"Oh! Like you would know!" Ducky rolled her eyes, "They have more down there than you ever will."

"Izzy..." Mrs. Mirren warned, though her tone made it clear she approved of what her niece was saying.

Hunter made an angry noise and stalked off down the hall.

Isabella turned around to face Lincoln and smiled shyly at him. "You ok?"

Lincoln nodded dumbly, unable to form coherent words to thank her.

Trent and Wes glanced at each other and smirked. Their little Linc was in LOVE!

Amiri went over to where David was still crumpled on the floor. "You ok?"

David nodded, "Ya...I think so. Few bumps and bruises and maybe a muscle pulled the wrong way, but I'm fine."

Amiri nodded as he and Trent helped David to his feet. "Good to hear." He looked over at Wes, "Don't worry Wessie. I'm not the only one coming. Mirren emailed a whole group of us to come back and keep these kids safe. I'm just the first one who got here."

Wes nodded, smirking. HE was Big Brother bird now, but he hadn't always been. If any of HIS older Warbler Brothers showed up...ya. Hunter was SCREWED!

Thad went over to the still frozen Sebastian. "Bas? Honey, are you ok? Do need some water...or to sit down? We still have the wheelchair."

"I'm fine." Seb said softly. He shook his head, slowly coming back to himself, "And if you think you're EVER getting me back in that thing, you've got another thing coming!"

"And THERE is the Bazzy we know and tolerate!" Thad quipped, hugging his best friend.

Seb shoved him off, laughing. "Well! Now that the party crasher is gone...LETS PARTY!"

The boys all cheered and quickly lost themselves in the festivities, almost forgetting what Hunter had done. They thought they were safe.

Little did they know, Hunter had ANOTHER moral: NEVER make a promise or threat you don't intend to keep.


	13. Night Mares

**Still open to ideas for the story. Review or PM me if you have any you wanna see me do.**

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**Warning: Sort of disturbing things in this chapter. Not sure if this should be a trigger warning, but be warned at least that some of the things mentioned are not pretty.**

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_Dream sequence_

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Later that night, Wes was tucking Seb into bed. This would be the last night they'd have to share a room. Hunter would be gone tomorrow and Bas would move back into his own room. Wes was going to enjoy babying his little Mockingbird while he could. He'd done it every night since Seb had become his temporary roommate, even at the hospital. If Seb let him, he'd like to continue to do it, but he doubted that'd happen.

Seb sighed softly and snuggled down under the covers.

Wes smiled. "Comfy?"

Seb nodded. "Yes. Very much so. Thank you."

Wes ruffled his hair softly, "Anytime little brother. Now get some shut-eye, my little Mockingbird. BIG day tomorrow for us all."

Seb yawned. "Ok. Night triple B."

Wes chuckled. "Goodnight Sebastian." He climbed into his own bed and shut off the lights.

Seb closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep...

* * *

_He was laying in a room. A Dalton dorm room. His room. He groaned awake and tried to stretch...but found he couldn't move. He frowned and tugged at his arm, finding them secured to something. Panic coursed through his veins as pain surged in his wrists. He looked up to find himself handcuffed to the bedpost. He tried to scream, but found himself gagged. He thrashed and cried and screamed._

_ There was cruel laughter above him. He looked up to see Hunter staring down at him. "I warned you Sebastian. I am the new captain now. You will do what I say. You will play your part as co-captain and be loyal to me, or you will regret it. I can do MUCH worse than this. Are we CLEAR?"_

_ Seb nodded frantically. He'd do anything to get let free._

_ Hunter sneered. "Good. Now...you know what? This is sort of fun to watch. I think I'll just let you...hold on for a bit."_

_ Seb screamed through the gag and thrashed. NO! He couldn't leave him! NO!_

_ Hunter laughed and waved as he left the room. "See you later Seb." He shut and locked the door behind him._

_ Seb whimpered and closed his eyes tight again. 'BREATHE!' He told himself, 'Someone will notice. Someone will come. But...it's SATURDAY! How long will that take?! NO! Stop it! You WILL be found. You're gonna be fine. BREATHE! You're safe. Plenty of room. Kick your legs...SHIT! Those are tied down too! Oh god...I'm trapped! I'm alone and trapped and I'm gonna die and...'_

* * *

"BAS!" Wes finally managed to rouse the boy, who had been sobbing and screaming in his sleep.

Seb's eyes shot open and he awoke with an inhuman scream, pushing Wes off of him, hyperventilating. He was thrashing wildly. "NO! LET ME OUT! LET ME GO!"

Wes could only guess the nightmare the boy had just had, but he could tell from his words that the boy was having a merinthophobic panic attack. Wes had to calm him down. Quickly, he ripped the blankets off of Sebastian and moved away from the boy, giving him some freedom and space. He shot a text to Thad quickly about what was happening before refocusing on Seb. He tried to talk him down. "Bas...listen to me! You're NOT trapped! You're NOT tied up! You're FREE! You can move! You're ok! Do you understand me? Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Seb vaguely registered Wes's voice. He locked on that. Wes was Big Brother Bird. Wes meant safety. Wes wasn't going to hurt him. Wes would NEVER let anyone hurt him. He nodded to Wes's question, eyes slowly focusing on Wes's

"Good." Wes said softly, "Now breathe. You don't have to close your eyes. Just focus on me. Look into my eyes and calm down. Inhale and exhale. In with the good air. Out with the bad air."

Seb did as he was told. He breathed. He relaxed. He calmed down. He was free. He was not trapped in his and Hunter's dorm. He was in Wes's room. He was safe. Sobbing, he launched himself forward and buried himself into Wes's arms.

Wes wrapped his arms around his brother gently, making sure Bas's arms weren't trapped so the boy could move. "Hush now little mockingbird." He crooned, "It's alright now. I'm here. You're safe."

Thad burst through the door. "BAZZY!"

Seb looked up and saw Thad. He choked out a small noise. "Thad." He got up and ran into his best friend's arms, crying.

Thad held him securely in his arms. "Oh Bazzy! What happened? What's got you so upset?"

Seb hiccupped. "I...I dreamt about Hunter. The...the day he...in our room...when you found me... "

Thad grimaced and held tighter. "Oh god! Oh honey! It's ok. It's alright now. He can't do that anymore. He can't hurt you. I promise."

Wes got up and wrapped his arms around both his brothers. "Let's sit."

They made their way over to sit on Wes's bed. Seb was curled up in Thad's arms. Wes lay a blanket loosely over them. He sat down next to them. "Now..can you tell me?"

Seb shook his head and looked at Thad.

Thad sighed and looked at Wes. "I don't know all of it. Only what Seb has told me and what I saw. It was shortly before the whole deal with the New Directions trophy. Hunter and Seb had gotten into a fight in Warblers the day before. Some stupid thing that got blown out of proportions. The basic idea was that Seb was the only one ballsy enough at the time to tell Hunter NO."

Wes winced, knowing from the stories he'd heard what happened to someone who told Hunter 'No'.

Thad shivered, "It was a Saturday. Seb and I ALWAYS go out for Breakfast together on Saturday mornings. When he didn't show up...I was worried. I went to our room and found the door locked. THANK GOD I still had my key." He gulped, "I opened the door to find Seb out cold on his bed. He was gagged with an old tie and a piece of duct tape. His wrists were HANDCUFFED to his bed post and his legs were trapped too, Hunter having stapled his PJ pants to the mattress. His wrists were bleeding from thrashing and he'd passed out from hyperventilation. I was calling 911 when I saw a note next to Seb's bed. It was basically Hunter saying if anyone called for help...he'd do worse. So...I'm ashamed to say...I didn't. I called David and the two of us managed to fix Seb up."

Wes sat there in horror. Every time he thought Hunter had reached the lowest of the low...the boy sunk to a new level of evil. The monster obviously KNEW Bas was a merinthophobe, otherwise he'd never have gone THAT far. Just...there were no words for the evil. What's more, as much as Wes wished he could say it surprised him that Hunter would do such a thing...he couldn't. Because it DIDN'T surprise him at all. It was just the sort of thing he'd expect that no good little weasel to pull.

Seb was slowly calming down. He looked to Wes. "Can...can you put that one in the notebook?"

Wes nodded and pulled out the journal from under his pillow. He'd been taking anal-retentively detailed notes on all the things his brothers told him about Hunter, along with all the things he noticed. He planned to present the book to police once it was filled so that Hunter would be locked up and securely away from his boys. Some of the boys wrote and doodled in the notebook too. It was as much a therapeutic release for them as it was a piece of hard evidence.

Thad watched as Wes wrote every word he'd just been told in the notebook. He held Sebastian tight to his side. While Hunter had never done something that physically violent to Thad...he'd never had to. Sebastian was Thad's kryptonite. Hunter needed only put the poor boy in danger and he had Thad begging at his feet. That and the threat off exposing the truth about Thad's heart condition to the whole school had been enough to keep the older Warbler in line.

Wes put the notebook away under his pillow again. He looked up and suddenly made a face. "Thaddeus! What in the name of all that is good and sensible are you WEARING?!"

Thad turned an alarming shade of maroon, the blush spreading quickly across his entire face and to his ears and neck.

Seb looked too, and bit down HARD on his lip to keep from bursting out in hysterics. "Thad...is...is that Rainbow Dash?"

"You know Rainbow Dash?" Thad raised his eyebrows incredibly high. As well as he knew Sebastian, he NEVER would have pegged him as a Brony.

Now Seb was blushing as hard as Thad.

Wes slipped off the bed he was laughing so hard.

"Shut up!" Seb groaned, "I watch it with my little cousin Ella, ok?"

Wes sighed. "Fine. I can believe that." He looked incredulously at Thad, "What's YOUR excuse?"

Thad hid his face in his hands. "To be clear, I've NEVER actually seen the show! My Nana is trying her best to be understanding of my budding Bisexuality, and has fallen prey to the stereotypes of gay men. She thinks we all LOVE rainbows and shopping and nail polish and fashion and girly shows. "

"And you're wearing them...why?" Wes asked.

Thad squeaked. "PLEASE don't make me answer that..."

Seb gasped. "OH! I know why!"

Thad glared. "Don't you DARE!"

Seb smirked and looked at Wes. "The heater in his new room is on the fritz. Sometimes it's freezing cold. Other times it's hot as hell. When it gets hot...THAD here likes to sleep 'Desnudo'."

Wes had to think about the word for a second before understanding, his spanish being rusty at the moment. When he did, his eyes shot wide. "OH!"

Thad nodded. "I was just getting to sleep when you texted. I was rushing. I forgot to do my laundry last night. THESE were all I had for PJs. It was either THIS or nothing, and I REALLY don't think any of the Dalton residents wanna see me streak around the dorms."

They were all silent for a second before bursting into laughter at the very idea of Thad running about...like THAT!

There was a sudden knocking at the door.

"It's open!" Wes called.

The door opened to reveal Amiri, standing there, looking exhausted.

Seb smiled shyly. "Sorry...did we wake you?"

Amiri nodded. "Ya, but it's fine. You ok kiddo?"

Seb nodded. "Ya...just...bad dream."

Amiri sighed. "Ok. Well, you guys should all probably try to get back to sleep. It's pretty late." He then noticed Thad's PJs. He paused for a second before shaking his head, "I'm not gonna judge...I don't wanna know."

Thad was about to start trying to defend himself once again, when suddenly there were screams ringing through the building's air.

Wes shot up and swore violently in several foreign languages. "Sounds like Seb's not the only one having a restless night."

"Probably a full moon." Amiri mumbled, "Energy flow is always sort of wacky around those."

Thad got up, "You two take the West wing. Me and Seb will take the East."

Wes nodded. "Good plan. Call if you need us?"

Seb nodded and stood. "Of course! OH! And be careful! HUNTER is in the West wing...and he's just as cranky without sleep as he is when he hasn't had his steroids for too long."

Amiri and Wes nodded, smirking to each other.

"Don't worry, my little fledglings," Wes assured, "We'll be fine"

"Ya," Amiri nodded, "I THINK we can handle Hunter."

Thad and Sebastian quickly set off for the East wing. Amiri and Wes went West.

By the sounds of it...this was going to be a LONG night.


	14. Bad Dreams and Broken Wings

**Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy and had INSANE writers block!**

_Dream sequence_

**Thanks for all the love you've given me! Please, feel free to review with your reactions and ideas. It REALLY does help me write when I get feedback from others.**

**This is a sort of short chapter. Hope the quality makes up for the lack of quantity. **

**Warning: Just like the last one. Disturbing content. Not really sure if it's a trigger warning, but still. Heads up. This ain't gonna be pretty. **

* * *

Jeff was sweating in his sleep. He thrashed about and whimpered, face screwed up tightly. "No...no..." He mumbled, "Please...Nicky..."

* * *

_Jeff was running. Running towards the Warbler Commons. He'd been with his math teacher retaking a test he'd failed...when Sebastian had texted him. Nick. Hunter had held Nick back in practice. His Nicky was in danger. He prayed he wouldn't be too late this time. That he'd be able to save his Nicky again._

_ He rounded the corner and he heard it. The screaming. The cries of pain. He felt bile rise in his throat. He knew that voice anywhere. Nick. His Nick. Jeff was too late. He bolted faster._

_ He burst into the room and froze in horror at what he saw. Hunter was face to face with Nick. The captain's eyes were clear and cold. He wasn't roid raging. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Nick, Jeff's Nick, was in tears of pain. His eyes were clenched shut. He was screaming and sobbing. Hunter had him up against a wall so he couldn't escape and was holding the screaming boy firmly by the hand and wrist, bending Nick's fingers backwards at an awkward angle. _

_ "NICK!" Jeff cried._

_ Hunter looked up and grinned as he saw Jeff. His eyes pierced Jeff's very soul and conveyed clearly his thoughts. 'This is your fault.'_

_ "STOP!" Nick cried in pain, "Please stop. You're hurting me! You're gonna break my hand!"_

_ Hunter turned back and looked Nick dead in the eye. "Exactly." He suddenly tweaked his hands. There was a loud CRACK that echoed through the room, which was almost instantly drowned out by an unearthly screech of agony coming from Nick. _

_ "NICKY!" Jeff gasped in horror._

_ Hunter dropped the boy and Nick crumpled to the floor. "THAT will teach you to talk back to me." He said, though it was clear to Jeff from his tone that Nick's words were NOT the reason he'd done that. Sure enough, as Hunter walked past Jeff, he smirked wickedly and glared at the boy. "See you in practice tomorrow Jeff."_

_ Jeff felt his stomach drop. Hunter had done this to punish him for skipping practice. Hunter had told him that they needed him for choreography today, but this was the soonest time he'd found to retake his test and save his grade. He'd not done what he was told...and Nick had gotten hurt. He swore to himself from that moment on, he'd NEVER miss practice again._

_ Hunter smiled as he saw Jeff had gotten the message and sauntered out the door._

_ Jeff ran to Nick's side. He turned Nick over and felt a chill run down his spine. Nick had passed out in pain. His head was bleeding from hitting the floor. He looked down at Nick's hand which was swelling and turning purple already. He felt the tears in his eyes as he pulled Nick's limp body into his arms. "No...Nicky...please...please wake up...I'm so sorry...this is all my fault..." Jeff felt his heart shatter as Nick let out a unconcious moan of agony. "Oh god...Nick? Nicky can you hear me? Nick! HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE! HELP!"_

* * *

Jeff woke up crying and screaming Nick's name. He froze as he felt two warm arms wrapped tightly around him and heard a soft voice hushing and singing to him. Nicky. His Nicky. He was ok. Jeff was sobbing heavily. He turned and buried himself into Nick's arms.

"Ssshhh. It's okay now Jeffie." Nick soothed softly, "It was just a bad dream. I'm right here. You're okay now. Calm down Cuckoo-bird. BREATHE!"

Jeff didn't stop screaming. He couldn't stop crying. He had lost complete control of himself. With an anguished cry, he dug in his nails and held Nick in a vice-grip, like a human teddy bear.

Nick held him tighter. "Jeffie! Honey, what's the matter? What could get you so upset? It's ok."

"I'm sorry Nicky." Jeff sobbed, "I'm so sorry. HE hurt you. Hunter hurt you because of ME! I missed practice, and he broke your hand to punish me."

Nick's eyes shot wider. "OH! Oh Jeffie! It's okay. Ssshhh. It's fine. I forgive you. You weren't at fault. Hunt is a monster. We both did something wrong in his eyes. You missed practice...and I defended you. I back sassed him. THAT is why he..."

"NO!" Jeff screeched, "Don't you get it?! THAT was just his excuse! It was ME! HE was punishing ME for missing practice. He hurt you because I didn't do what he asked. It's my fault you got hurt! It should've been MY hand he broke! It should've been ME! It should've been..."

Nick silenced Jeff by sealing his lips over the blonde's in a searing kiss. He held the blonde's head in his hands and stroked his hair softly. After a minute or two, he pulled away.

Jeff slowly caught his breath, remarkably calmer now. He smiled weakly. "Okay. That was a really sweet way of telling me to shut up."

Nick smiled and nuzzled into Jeff's neck. "Listen to me very closely Cuckoo: In the same way Hunt used me against you...he used you against me. Said he'd hurt YOU if I disobeyed. I'd rather face a broken hand everyday than EVER have to see you in pain. I know you feel the same and we're NEVER going to agree on who's more important, so PLEASE, for my sake, just try to let that one go. It's over. I'm healed. Nothing more to it."

Jeff sniffled and nodded. "As you wish." He whispered.

Nick scoffed. "You did NOT just make a Princess Bride reference!?"

Jeff smirked. "How could I. It's inconceivable!"

Nick shook his head. "You're a dork."

Jeff smiled and snuggled closer to Nick. "Yes...but I'm YOUR dork."

There was a knock at the door.

"Nick? Jeff?" Sebastian's voice came through the door, "You guys okay in there?"

"Door is open!" Jeff called, voice still raspy from crying.

The door creaked open slowly to reveal Thad and Seb. Sebastian's face was tear-stained as Jeff's was. Thad's arm was tight around the boy's waist. It was clear they'd been the same place as Jeff and Nick earlier.

"Hunter?" Seb asked softly.

Jeff nodded. "Hunter."

Nick raised his arms and wiggled his fingers. "The day he held me back from practice and broke my hand. He made Jeff watch...apparently it was his punishment for missing practice more than it was my punishment for defending Jeff when Hunter bad mouthed him."

Thad and Seb winced in sympathy. Jeff had been a mess. It had taken the Warblers several hours to calm the blonde down. It had taken Nick FINALLY waking up to get Jeff to relax. Nick's hand had been casted for several weeks, though Hunter had luckily broken his non-dominant hand, so his school work was not affected.

Jeff shivered and looked to Seb. "You?"

Seb gulped. "Same. He...um..." Seb looked to Thad for help. They'd never told the Warblers about what Hunter had done to him. Until today, it have only been Hunter, Thad, Sebastian, and David that knew. Now Wes did too. Should they tell Niff?

Thad squeezed his hand softly. He'd tell Niff for him. Thad looked to them. "Remember how I told you Sebastian's a merinthophobe?"

The boys nodded.

"That's the fear of being trapped, tied up, or restrained, right?" Nick asked.

Thad nodded. "Right. Well...that Saturday when Seb had 'food poisoning'? He didn't."

Seb shivered. "And those scratches on my wrists Hunt said I got from his CAT? Ya...I didn't."

Nick and Jeff looked at each other in horror.

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Seb clarified quickly. "No, I'm NOT a cutter! I've NEVER been one and I never will. And GOD knows I wouldn't try to kill myself."

Both boys sighed in relief.

"Then what..." Jeff started.

"Hunter handcuffed Sebastian to his bedpost while he was sleeping." Thad said bluntly.

Jeff and Nick went dead silent, eyes wide.

Seb closed his eyes. "He gagged me with one of his ties and a piece of duct tape."

"Stapled Sebastian's pajama pants to the bed." Thad said coldly. "Then LEFT him there and LOCKED the door behind him."

The room was frozen, sparking with the tension of Thad's anger and Niff's shock. Seb shivered and looked at the floor. They say time heals all wounds...but talking about it and reliving it was ripping open Seb's stitches.

He jolted as he felt a pair of warm arms wrapped around him. He looked down to see a mop of blonde hair. Jeff was holding him. Seb took a breath and hugged back, pressing the boy's head firmly to his chest. He felt both of their bodies relaxing. Jeff was a very touch oriented person. When he was upset, he just needed to be held and comforted. With Sebastian, it was slightly ironic. Despite his merinthophobia and past that would logical make him highly averse to being touched, he'd found that being held by his friends and family always made him feel so much better.

Nick and Thad looked at each other and nodded. They moved forward and joined the hug.  
"We're here." Nick said softly.

"You're safe." Thad whispered.

The group all stood there in silence, comforting each other from the horrors of the night.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Next chapter: Trent's nightmare**


	15. Trent's Terror

_Dream Sequence_

**Song Lyrics**

**HEY! I'm BACK! FINALLY got this chapter done!**

**Faster the a speeding Ball-point pen! More Powerful than a load of swedish coffee! Able to leap long paragraphs in a single bound! Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's Plane! It's...ERAMAN! :D LOL, a shout out and a BIG thank you to my muse and good friend for helping me through my horrible case of writer's block! She co-wrote the end of this chapter with me and gets a lot of the credit for the fact that it's up here and not still frozen in my word processor. So again, SHE IS MY HERO!**

**Hope you like this chapter. Tell me what you think and PLEASE feel free to send me ideas for this or other stories. Whether I use them or not, suggestion really do help me write.**

**Song Credits (Since I obviously don't own it):**

**"Deep in The Meadow" From The Hunger Games**

* * *

Wes opened the door of Trent's room when he heard the whimpering inside. He gestured for Amiri to wait by the door. He approached Trent's bed to find the boy crying in his sleep. He gently sat on the edge of the mattress. "Trent," He said softly, "Wake up buddy. It's just a bad dream."

Trent whimpered and grimaced. "No...please...I'm sorry."

* * *

_Trent was laying on the ground in the Dalton parking lot. Hunter was standing over him. The captain was kicking him and hitting him ruthlessly. Though Trent was begging for mercy, Hunter didn't seem to hear him over his own ranting and raving. _

_ "You're PATHETIC! Come on Sensitive! Get up and fight like a man!" Hunter roared. "Do you hear me, lard-ass? FIGHT BACK!"_

_ Trent whimpered and clenched his eyes shut. When he opened them, he found himself in the same position, only the parking lot was gone. Now he was laying in the restricted section of the library. He didn't have much time to wonder at the change of scenery when Hunter landed a hard kick to his ribs._

_ "Honestly Trent," Hunter scolded him, only it wasn't Hunter's voice coming out of the captain's mouth. It was David's. "Could you BE any more dense?"_

_ Trent opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off as boot tip met temple. It dizzied him. When his vision cleared, he was in the Warbler commons. He could feel the course carpet against his bruised cheek._

_ Hunter snorted, the voice that followed clearly not belonging to him, but to Jeff. "You're a horrible dancer."_

_ "Please..." Trent begged, clenching his eyes shut to brace himself against another blow. He opened his eyes to the Dalton courtyard. _

_ Hunter grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against a tree. The voice that came from his curled sneer was blatantly Nick's. "You're so damn over sensitive."_

_ Trent whimpered and winced as he was thrown to the ground. He felt himself be flipped onto his back. He opened his eyes to Hunter staring down at him, pinning him to the mattress of his bed. _

_ Hunter's eyes flashed cruelly as he slimed out his insult, his voice as always not his own. "You're useless." Trent's stomach turned as he recognized the voice as Thad's._

_ "This can't be happening..." Trent muttered, shaking his head wildly. He stopped and saw he was now in Scandals somehow. _

_ Hunter had him pinned to the back of a booth. "Really Sunshine," He sneered, his sly tone matching only Sebastian, "You couldn't even pay to get laid."_

_"No...please." He closed his eyes again, praying. He opened them. He was sitting in the Lima bean. _

_Hunter sat calmly across from him, sipping coffee. He locked eyes with Trent and crooned out one word, his voice the unison voices of all his Warbler brothers._

_"Traitor."_

* * *

Trent woke up sobbing. He didn't scream, but whimpered like an injured animal. He wasn't scared. He was heartbroken.

"Oh Trent." Wes soothed softly, pulling the boy into his arms, "It's ok. You're ok now. You're safe."

Trent panicked, thinking Hunter had taken the voice of Wes now. He lashed out and swung. "Get away from me!"

Wes fell back with a grunt. Trent was stronger than he looked and he gotten Wes in one of his weak spots. A spot on his jaws that was extremely sensitive after an...incident when Wes was a child. "Scheiße!" He cussed in german, a skill he'd picked up long ago, as it made it easier to say naughty things in front of his baby brothers without them knowing he was cussing.

Trent gasped and hurried over to him. "OH MY GAGA! Wes! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"

"Fine." Wes grunted, lying through his teeth. "You?"

"Oh don't you even start on me Weston Jonathan Montgomery-Hughes", Trent said in his most sassy voice. "Wasn't it you that said that if you lie you won't only hurt yourself more but others as well? Wasn't it you that said that even a small white lie will grow into a massive one that will only cause pain? Wasn't it you that said that you don't gain anything by lying?"

Wes sighed. He was caught. "Ok! Calm down Sassy-bird. I'm sorry. Let me rephrase: No. I'm not ok RIGHT NOW. Right now, THAT hurt like a bitch. You're stronger than you look. I WILL be fine in a minute. "

"There now that wasn't so hard was it?" Trent said and carefully helped Wes up.

Wes smiled as he got up. He pulled Trent down so they were sitting side by side on the bed. "No. It wasn't. Now, I've answered your question honestly, so you need to answer mine. Are YOU ok? No, you're not. Better question: What's wrong?"

Trent looked at his feet and leaned a little closer to Wes, searching for warmth and protection. "I had a bad dream," he whispered fearfully. The horror of the dream was coming back.

Wes nodded and wrapped his arms securely around Trent, pulling the boy's head to his chest and gently carding his fingers through his hair. "I know." He whispered, "You were sobbing in your sleep. Seems a lot of people are having night terrors tonight. You wanna talk about your dream? Would getting it said out loud make it better? Or do you just need to be held right now?"

"Just hold me for a little bit, please?" He begged in a small voice.

Wes sighed softly and held his brother close. "Ok. You don't have to tell me yet. Just close your eyes and calm down. I'm here now. You're safe."

Trent snuggled closer to him and closed his eyes, but he gripped his t-shirt tightly. "Big brother?"

Wes smiled down at him and gently rubbed Trent's back. "Yes, little bird?"

"Can you sing to me?" Trent asked softly

Wes nodded. "Of course buddy." He pulled the boy closer and began to sing, rubbed Trent's back to the rhythm of the song.

**"Deep in the meadow, under the willow**  
**A bed of grass, a soft green pillow**  
**Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes**  
**And when again they open, the sun will rise.**

**Here it's safe, here it's warm**  
**Here the daisies guard you from every harm**  
**Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**  
**Here is the place where I love you.**

**Deep in the meadow, hidden far away**  
**A cloak of leaves, a moon-beam ray**  
**Forget your woes and let your troubles lay**  
**And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.**

**Here it's safe and here it's warm**  
**And here the daisies guard you from every harm**  
**And here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true**  
**Here is the place where I love you."**

Trent yawned and snuggled a little closer. He was soon asleep again but this times his dreams weren't dark or haunted by cruel words, words of lies. This time his dreams were light, filled with happy memories and happy moments. Hunter's ghost was far, far away because Wes was there to protect him from Hunter, protect them all. Wes was there to hunt the ghosts away and not just for one night.

* * *

**To Be Continued...**


	16. Night of the Killer Kitty

**HI GUYS! So sorry for the long wait here. I got CRAZY busy with school and stuff, and then when I had free time, I suddenly contracted the WORST possible case of writer's block :P THANK GOD for Eraman. After helping me with the last chapters ending, I realized that I have a lot of fun writing with her. SO, I RP-style co-wrote the next 3 chapters with her help. So a BIG thank you to her and I give her credit for at least half, if not more, of the things written in the next three chapters. Again, I apologize for taking so long. Now that it's summer and I've been cured of writer's block, I will try to update more often. LOVE YOU GUYS! Please review and send me any comments or suggestions you have :D**

**This scene returns us to where we left off with Thadbastian and Niff...**

* * *

After the group hug ended Jeff sat on his bed with Nick. He was holding Nick's hand, turning it and feeling on it carefully to make sure it wasn't broken and that had been just a dream. Nick was smiling gently while he did that. He knew Jeff needed it to feel better. Off to the side Thad and Sebastian were talking about what to do next.

Just then, the door burst open and Lincoln ran in screaming. Seb was almost instantly on his feet, rushing to the boy and pulling him tightly into his arms. "Ssshhh. It's ok Linc. Easy buddy." He crooned, "You're safe. I got you little buddy. I got you."

Lincoln was thrashing at first, but when he recognized Seb's voice, he stopped. His hands fisted at Seb's nightshirt, holding on with a death grip as he sobbed into the older Warbler's shoulder.

Thad walked over as well and gently rubbed Lincoln's back. Humming softly to try to help Sebastian calm him down. Jeff and Nick hurried over as well to be moral support for their younger friend and brother.

"Lincoln?" Sebastian asked gently, "Buddy what..." He gasped as Lincoln looked up at him. "OH GOD! He's bleeding!"

Indeed, there was a good-sized gash down Lincoln's cheek.

Lincoln sniffed."H-Hunter. He...he let his demon cat loose in my room!"

Thad hurried to the bathroom where he knew they had a first aid kit.

Nick walked to where Jeff kept the hockey stick he got as a joke and picked it up. "I'm gonna get rid of that cat once and for all," he said. "And invent a new game at the same time."

"DON'T!" Sebastian said quickly, "Please. It's not Puss's fault. He's not a bad cat. He actually BEHAVES when he's with ME." He growled. "Hunter just gets him purposely riled up and then sends him out as an attack cat! He sees Puss as an accessory and a weapon, not as a living being! It's REVOLTING!"

Lincoln nodded. "I once saw him trying to inject Mr Puss with some of the steroids. Lucky I 'tripped' when I did and knocked it out of his hand. Those would've KILLED him!"

"Fine," Nick grumbled and put the stick away. But when he heard what Lincoln said he left. He had to rescue the kitty. Nick loved animals and couldn't stand them being treated badly.

Seb watched him go and smiled. Even Puss shouldn't have to put up with Hunter.

Thad returned and started to gently and carefully wash Lincoln's wounds.

Lincoln quietly let Thad help him. "I'm not the only one having a bad night. I heard a lot of other boys crying in their sleep as I was running."

Thad looked at Sebastian, trying to tell him they had to do something about that. Then he smiled at Lincoln. "Everything will be fine, don't worry," he said. "You can stay with me and Sebastian for as long as you want."

Lincoln sniffled. "Thank you."

Seb nodded to Thad...and then the signature meerkat grin spread across his face. He had a BRILLIANT idea!

Thad hugged him gently. "What's with that grin Sebastian?"

Seb smirked. "I suggest...A WARBLER SLEEP OVER!"

Lincoln's eyes lit up. "In the commons?"

The younger boys had all heard stories of such things. Pre-Hunter, such things were common.

"That's awesome!" Jeff shouted happily.

Thad smiled softly. "Well first of all we need the Warblers and there's one thing we need or it will not be a great sleep over."

Seb grinned. He had an idea what Thad was talking about.

Lincoln looked up at Thad in wonder. "What's that?'

"Wes's bedtime stories!" Jeff shouted happily.

Thad nodded. "And lots of pillows, blankets and scary movies." he said. "We always watch them and then Wes calms everyone down with bedtime stories."

Lincoln positively squealed

Sebastian chuckled, "Someone's excited..."

"It's so cute!" Jeff said and hugged Lincoln tightly.

"More than one," Thad remarked.

Seb blushed. He'd be DAMNED if he'd admit he was just as excited as Lincoln

Lincoln beamed. "Can we text everyone now?"

Thad noticed Sebastian's blush. "Okay admit it, you're just as excited as these two battery bunnies", he said with a gentle smile. Then he turned to Lincoln. "We must ask Wes first."

Seb put his hands up in surrender. "I plead the fifth!"

Jeff rolled his eyes at Thad. "Oh come on Goldie. You KNOW he'll say yes!"

Lincoln was giggling like mad.

"Not if someone is so upset they need some alone time with him Cuckoo Bird." Thad said

"If he needs a few minutes or even an hour of one-on-one with some one, that's fine," Jeff reasoned, "They'd just come down whenever they're ready."

Seb went over and took Thad's hand. "You've both got good points. If someone needs Wes, they NEED Wes. But most of the boys don't need WES right now. We just all need to be together. When real birds get spooked, they flock together. That's what Warblers do too. We gather together for comfort. Once Wes has dealt with the little birds that need a minute alone with him, he'll come flying down to fuss over the rest of us."

Lincoln nodded. "I know I felt better once I was in here with you guys."

Thad nodded and squeezed Sebastian's hand a little. "I'm just trying to be a good role model," he whispered.

Seb smiled warmly. "Don't. You already are one."

Thad blushed a little and tried to look at anything but his friends' faces.

Jeff provided the perfect subject change. "Hey...where's Nicky?"

Lincoln shrugged. "I don't know. Saw him leave the room a little while ago."

"Shit!" Seb stiffened, eyes wide in horror. "He went to get the cat!"

Thad hurried towards the door and threw it open, looking down the hallway towards Lincoln's room. But he had to hurriedly shut the door again when he saw Hunter step out from that room. "Crap, Hunter," He hissed.

Jeff whimpered. "Nicky..."

Seb tried to keep calm. "He's safe. If Hunter's not roid raging, he hasn't found Nick."

Lincoln gasped at a thought. "Maybe he went to the commons? Or to find Wes?"

That calmed Jeff down. Nick was safe...at least for now.

Thad smiled at Lincoln. "Yeah he'd probably try to keep Hunter as far away from us as possible until he knows it's safe. We would've known if Hunter had found him. He's safe. Let's just text everyone and go to the commons."

Seb nodded and pulled out his phone, shooting off a text to Wes.

Lincoln and Jeff got out their phones and mass texted the other Warblers.

Thad smiled and started gathering up the pillows and blankets in the room.

The other boys helped gather supplies as well. This was gonna be AWESOME!

* * *

**Hope you liked this! Next chapter we return to check on Wes and Trent!**


	17. Learning More Stories

**Here is the next chapter! Again, thank you to Eraman, who I co-wrote this chapter with. She is a life saver! Anyway, so this and the next chapter might be followed by a bit of a hiatus. I'm a slow writer (I prefer quality to quickness). Also I'm going to be going away to camp for 2 weeks in about a week or so. Hopefully you sweet little darlings can survive without me for a little while (you've already waited a month before). So anyway, thought it'd be nice to at least give you a heads up. As always, review with comments and ideas. They really do help me think.**

**Now we return to Wes and Trent...**

* * *

Wes was still hugging Trent close and rocking him gently when they both got texts. Wes read what was said and smiled. He thought it was a great idea to have a sleepover.

Trent suddenly startled awake, breathing hard, eyes flicking around the room.

Wes smiled at Trent and hushed him gently. "Ssh Sassy. it's okay, just a text from the guys. They're going to have a sleepover in the commons, Warbler sleepover."

Trent nodded, steadying his breathing. He curled closer to Wes. "I...I think I'm ready to talk now.."

"Don't feel as if you have to, you can tell me when you are sure you're ready Sassy-bird," Wes said gently and hugged him close.

Trent shook his head. "No. I...I think I just needed a bit to calm down. And now...now I need to get it out of my system." He gulped, "It's not the first time I've had this dream...but maybe if I talk about it, this will be the LAST."

Wes nodded and hugged him close. "So... what happens in this dream?"

Trent shivered. "It's pretty basic...Hunter beating the shit outta me. And...he's yelling at me and insulting me. But then suddenly it changes. Like... he's still hitting and kicking me...and he's still yelling but...the scenery keeps shifting to different places and...his voice shifts...it's not Hunter's voice screaming at me anymore. It's...the other Warblers. Like...it's Hunter's body, but... Jeff and Nick and David and Thad and Sebastian...it's THEIR voices coming out of his mouth. Calling me pathetic and over sensitive and fat and stupid and a horrible dancer and useless and ugly and...and TRAITOR!"

Wes hugged Trent tightly. "Oh Sassy-bird," he said and rocked him gently. "You know that none of them, none of us, thinks that right? Sebastian even told you so himself when we met the New Directions. He and the others don't think of you as a traitor."

"I know." Trent sniffled. "But...THAT is how Hunter hurt me. He...he kept me away from them and...he mimicked them when he was beating me up. He could twist his insults to sound EXACTLY like something they'd say. After a while...with him doing that...how could I NOT believe him! And...looking back...all of those things they said to me in the dream are things they REALLY have said in real life. I mean...in CONTEXT, it was just them joking around, or they weren't talking to me. Like...David calling me 'dense'. He DID call me that, but it was only because he was trying to tutor me in something I REALLY didn't understand and was getting frustrated with me. And Jeff calling me a 'horrible dancer'. He's said that to me MANY times, but he's always joking around or showing off when he does, and afterwards he tries to help me learn. And Nick calling me 'oversensitive'. I remember he said that because he'd pranked me and accidentally hurt me. I was crying and he laughed and wondered why I was reacting to badly. Then...but THEN he figured out something was wrong and totally flipped his shit. Spent the rest of the day apologizing. And...and then...the other ones...I can't place. Sebastian...we...OH! That one I remember now! We were at Scandals, and he said something about how I 'couldn't PAY to get laid'. But in REAL life, he wasn't saying that to me. He was trying to get this grizzly bear who was, like, 30 years older than both of us, to leave me alone, because the guy had tried to get me to take this drink he'd bought for me which I'm FAIRLY certain looking back was probably drugged, and he wouldn't take NO as an answer. So Seb just put his arm around me and gave the guy a verbal beat down. Seb convinced the guy that he was my BOYFRIEND, and threatened various obscene forms of bodily harm in the creeper didn't back the heck OFF! Thad...in the dream when Hunter has his voice, we're in my bedroom...and he calls me 'useless'. When did Thad ever say that to me?"

Wes stroked his back gently and thought back to all the times he'd heard his little brothers insult each other in what was called "good fun". Maybe, for the moment, they had to lay off those sort of comments because Wes was sure Trent wasn't the only one whose dreams got all tangled up with reality. He hugged him close. "I think Thad said that about himself once or twice when we were studying for exams. Maybe you sat beside him when he said it?"

Trent's eyes lit up "YES! I remember now! He had a big final presentation in Shakespearean literature, and he could NOT get his tongue wrapped around the old english or the iambic pentameter. David and I were helping him practice. He mumbled 'You're useless' under his breath and David looked at him and asked which one of us he was talking about. Thad just got this sort of horrified look on his face and quickly clarified he'd been referring to himself."

Wes smiled, Thad the habit of selling himself short for some reason. "Yeah he does that." he said and hugged Trent close. "But you know they would never say anything like that to hurt your feelings right? Never."

Trent nodded. "I know. Just...when Hunter was saying things to me...it sounded so much like them...I shouldn't have believed it was their words, but I did." He bit his lip, not wanting to tell his brother bird how he had also wondered at times if Hunter was maybe RIGHT! Maybe there WAS something wrong with him?

Wes looked closely at him. "I hope that you know that Hunter is NOT right. Not at all. Nothing of what he says is true. He's a jerk who's just trying to make everyone else feel bad about themselves. He feels crappy about himself, which is why he took the steroids, and now he's trying to make everyone feel bad about themselves as well. But there's nothing wrong with any of my little birds."

Trent smiled softly and nodded. Then he sat up, frowning as there was a commotion in the hallway. "Did you hear that?"

Wes's brow furrowed. "Yes I did hear that."

There was a knock at the door and Amiri's voice came through, "Yo Wes! Can we come in? Got a pretty freaked out little Warbler here who wants you."

Trent listened to the sound of crying that was a background to Amiri's words, always having had the unique and somewhat unfortunate gift to be able to know his brother's by their screams and sobs. His eyes widened and he quickly ran to open the door. "Andy..."

Wes turned to the door. "Andy?" He asked as well. Then he smiled. "Come here." As soon as the words left his mouth the little freshman darted into the room and threw himself into Wes's arms. Wes held him gently.

Andy was crying and trembling in Wes's arms. "Don't let him get me! Don't let him get me!"

Amiri sighed. "Apparently, Dalton isn't the first school Hunter has infiltrated and broken..."

Trent nodded. He knew this already. "Andy's old school was one of them. Hunt got in with the jock who use to beat Andy up. His threat if Andy didn't obey in Warblers: Tell his old buddies where he is." He winced, "And I'm sorry to say that's one threat he's acted on before."

Wes growled and hugged Andy tightly. "We'll see about that!" He spat angrily. "I promise Andy, he won't ever get to you again. And if those other guys try to lay a finger on you they will have to deal with ME."

Andy instantly relaxed. "Ok."

Amiri looked to Trent. "You've told them the stories, haven't you?"

Trent smirked. "Yes, INCLUDING the one Wes told US about the time you guys sparred and little Wessie flipped and pinned you!"

Wes tried to hide his blush when he got reminded of THAT incident. "For the last time it was an accident," He said and rubbed Andy's back. "And he did it on purpose! He would never fall otherwise. He let me pin him!"

Andy was giggling slightly as he listened to them. This banter made him feel better. He snuggled deeper into Wes's warmth and relaxed, listening.

Amiri sighed, closing his eyes against his own blush, chuckling softly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't even TRY Wes. It's fine. I've LONG accepted the fact that, pint-sized or not, I should not have taken on a black belt." He smirked and opened his eyes, glaring playfully at Wes, "But I DID kick your ass the first time we fenced!"

Trent cackled and looked to Wes. "Ok! THAT is a story I wanna hear!"

Wes glared at Amiri. "That was more than unfair! How was I supposed to know you knew how to fence?! And you were what? Twice my size? I call that cheating."

Amiri scoffed. "I say the same to you SIR! You were DECEPTIVELY small and gave no warning that you had been in taekwondo since you were, what, SIX?! And karate and jujitsu and aikido and kung fu and...SERIOUSLY!? You were a little ninja in a blazer!"

Trent smirked. "I remember once we ran into St James...asshole...at a competition. He was giving me and Thad flack about something, and Wes just calmly went over to him, pinched some pressure point on his upper arm, and the guy went DOWN!"

"TIMBER!" Andy giggled like mad. He looked to Wes with wide, innocent eyes. "Can you teach ME to do that? Pretty please?"

Wes smirked at Amiri. "That's not cheating, that's underestimating," He said calmly and then looked at Andy and found himself smiling fondly. He ruffled the boy's hair. "It will be our little secret though."

Amiri smirked. "And you underestimated me. You KNEW I made and restored swords as a hobby. What did you THINK I did with them?"

Andy squealed and nodded.

Trent's eyes were wide, seeming rather horrified at the idea of this particular little warbler knowing how to do that.

Wes promptly ignored Amiri and focused on Trent and Andy. "But you must promise to only use it on creeps like Hunter and Jesse." He said sternly.

"And not US." Trent clarified simply.

Andy's eyes were wide. "Why would I ever use it on you guys?! You're my family! I'd NEVER hurt you!"

Amiri smiled softly at him. "We know bud, but sometimes when boys learn to fight, they play with the power a little."

"You can use it on Niff if they prank you," Wes said gently and hugged him close. "Or at least threaten to do it if their pranks get too out of hand."

Andy shook his head. "Last time Nicky was knocked unconscious, it took David and Thad and Bas 2 hours to get Jeff to stop screaming."

Amiri cocked an eyebrow. "EXCUSE ME?"

Trent grimaced. That was a story Wes didn't know about...but he'd wanna know NOW.

"WHAT?!" Wes yelled. "Why wasn't I told about this EARLIER?! What happened?"

Trent sighed. "Jeff missed a day of practice because he was making up a math test he flunked. HUNTER had told him that he needed Jeff to do the dancing for the routine that day. Hunter was pissed and bad mouthing Jeff...and Nick told him to shove it where the sun don't shine."

Amiri gaped. He imagine the very little Nick standing up to the very NOT little Hunter...there was no possible way that ended well.

Andy gulped. "Hunter let us go early...but...he told Nicky to stay behind. That...he wanted to talk to him..."

Wes felt ice build in his stomach and he held Andy closer.

Trent closed his eyes. "Seb texted Jeff...but none of us could stay with Nick...I...we TRIED Wes...we really tried...but Hunter just...he gave us this LOOK and told us to leave. He shut the door behind us and...and we LEFT." Trent shivered. "We knew it was gonna be bad...so half of us took the younger boys back to the dorms so they...they wouldn't hear the screaming...and the rest of us went to get the nurse."

Amiri sat down and hugged Trent. "You did the right thing honey. You helped the best you could."

Andy spoke softly. "Only Nick and Hunter know what happened for the next 5 minutes. Hunter won't tell and Nick...Nick was in too much pain to really be coherent and he's sort of repressed it. Sometime after that Jeff burst in and...he won't talk about what he saw."

Wes growled darkly, his hatred for Hunter flaring up into an unyielding inferno. When he got his hands on the guy he would gladly throw him off the top of the school roof. But he said calmly: "Amiri is right, you did the only thing you could do. I'm proud of you for looking after the little ones."

"Hunter broke Nick's hand," Andy said, almost in a trance-like voice. "Like he just...snapped it. With his bare hands. How...how does someone do that?"

Amiri looked to Wes. "Can YOU even do that?" He sounded worried. Was it possible there was someone out there that knew moves Wes didn't?

Trent curled closer to Amiri. "Nick passed out from the pain and hit his head on the way down. He...there was blood...all over...and Jeff...Jeff was just SCREAMING."

Wes took Trent's hand in his. "Head wounds always bleed a lot, even when they aren't serious but I understand that you got scared. Do you remember when I got that twig in the face and it bled like crazy but the wound was tiny?" He then looked at Amiri. "I might be able to do that... They taught it in self-defense classes."

Trent nodded. "Ya I know it's just...the aesthetics of it. Blood everywhere. All over Nick...all over the carpet...all over Jeff. And Nick's hand just...twisted at odd angles. And Jeff...just sitting there holding Nick...and SCREAMING."

Amiri nodded. He listened to Trent's story and scoffed. "Sounds like Hunter's using it to be more Self Offense."

Andy snorted. "Everything he does is Self Offense. He makes himself offensive to basically everyone."

There was a pause before they all started laughing slightly at the joke he'd just unintentionally made.

Wes smiled gently and held Andy close. "Let's not bring back shadows of the past", he said gently. "But I want you two to remember that you are safe now that Amiri and I are here. Hunter won't come near you."

Andy nodded and smiled. "We know."

Trent grinned. "Big Brother bird...always there to save the day."

Amiri snickered. "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPER-WES!"

Wes blushed and grumbled something to himself.

Amiri smirked as Andy and Trent giggled. "What was that? Speak up please?"

"It was nothing," Wes said and decided to change the subject. "Weren't we going somewhere?"

Trent nodded. "Oh ya...didn't you say something about a Warbler's sleep over in the commons?"

Andy shot up. "A WHAT?!" He squealed.

Amiri blinked in surprise. "Well...that was sudden."

Wes smiled. "Yes I did, so shall we go?"

Andy shrieked in delight, "YES!"

Amiri laughed. "Then off we go! I call dibs on telling the first ghost story!"

Trent laughed as the all gathered their things and headed out.

Wes smiled and followed the others out the door. He shut it gently. Shutting the ghosts and nightmares away for the night and hopefully for a very long time.

* * *

**There you go! Hope that was good. :D**

**For those of you who've been worrying and asking: DON'T PANICK! Nicky is FINE...for now ;D. The next little mini chapter will tell of his adventures during this time...with Mr Puss!**


	18. Kiwi Saves The Cat

**OK! Here is the last of the Co-Written Eraman chapters! This one is a mini chapter detailing the adventures of Nick in the rescue Hunter's cat, Mr. Puss. **

**Now, here's a little game for you lovely readers! In writing this, me and Eraman each did a point of view. One of us was Nick and the other was Puss. Your job: Figure out who was who! People who guess correctly will get a special treat! :D.**

** *Eraman: I know you're reading this and sorry sweets but you're not eligible because you KNOW the right answer ;) Don't worry, the prize is something you get to do already anyway, so it's nothing you're missing out on***

**Anyway, so this might be it for a bit because I write REALLY slow sometimes and I'm going away to camp next week so I won't be able to work. Hope this can hold you over for a bit. If not, then I shall ENJOY leaving you wanting more ;D**

**Without further ado, let us get on with our story.**

* * *

Nick carefully snuck towards Lincoln's room. He listened at the door to make sure that Hunter wasn't there. He heard him in the showers down the hall, so he snuck into the room. He questioned what Hunter was doing showering here when his room was in the other wing. Then again, trying to understand Hunter's thought process was an exercise in futility, so Nick decided it was better not to even try. He saw the cat sit on Lincoln's bed. He tiptoed up to it. "Here kitty-kitty."

Puss backed away and hissed. But this wasn't an angry cat anymore. His tail was between it's legs and he seemed to be trembling. This little kitty was terrified, obviously thinking Nick was about to hurt him as his master had.

"Hi kitty." Nick said and sat on the bed and held his hand out so that he could sniff it. "I'm here to save you."

Puss cautiously approached Nick. He sniffled his hand timidly. He gently started licking at Nick's fingers, slowly warming up to him. Eventually, he bowed his head and slipped it under the boy's hand, rubbing against it and purring softly. Nick was safe. Nick was friend. Nick was trusted. He'd seen Sebastian with this boy before. If Sebastian liked this boy, Mr Puss did too.

Nick smiled at the cat and carefully patted it. He made sure that he was gentle with it and slowly moved it onto his lap. "I'm gonna get you out of here kitty." He whispered. "Can I carry you?"

Puss curled up in his lap. He glanced at the door, seemingly trying to warn Nick that they'd have to hurry. Now that Lincoln had been scared out of his room, Hunter would soon come to fetch his cat. If they were caught, they'd both be punished.

Nick picked the cat up and headed for the door, kissing his head. "Nice kitty."

Puss purred and nuzzled against him

Nick smiled and hurriedly left the room, cradling the cat close to his chest. "Hunter will find you if we keep you in the school... maybe Wes can look after you until summer..."

Puss kept purring. Then suddenly he stiffened, ears flicking as he heard something Nick didn't. A door clicking shut...footsteps...

Nick looked at the cat."What is it kitty?" he asked gently.

Puss jumped from his arms and hissed at the footsteps approaching down the hall, slowly growing louder till Nick could hear them. His ears were flattened back, spine arched. He was in attack mode.

Hunter was coming their way

Nick heard the footsteps. "Come on kitty let's go." he said and lifted the cat up again and hurried down the hall.

* * *

**And there we go! Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. SLIGHT cliffhanger...but nothing gut wrenching. Bye-bye for now my lovelies! **


	19. Monster Mash

**HONEYS! I'M HOME!**

**You guys have no clue how much I missed you! I hope you all were well in my absence. I am back now and have a new chapter for you. Again, thanks to Eraman for contributing a few lines to this chapter when I got stuck. This chapter would likely have taken at least another week without her help.**

**CONGRATULATIONS to the FIRST winner of my little contest: MarchingbandGLEEKXD ! She guessed correctly in the last chapter who played Puss and who played Nicky. THE CONTEST IS STILL OPEN IF YOU WANT TO GUESS! Anyway, to our winner, I hope you like your prize!**

**Anyway, without further ado, let's get back to our favorite Bird Boys!**

* * *

An hour later, and all the Warblers had gathered in the commons and started setting up for the sleepover.

Thad, Trent, David, and Amiri were all setting up the sleeping bags, pillows, blanket, TV, popcorn, movies, and other various party essentials. Trent was insisting that they watch classic monster movies. Amiri and David wanted to do some modern thrillers, but Thad agreed with Trent. All of the movies Amiri suggested were psychological horror, and David was pushing for heavy gore horror. God knew they'd had enough THAT with Hunter. So, "Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man" it was going to be.

Lincoln and Andy were curled up on the couch, sandwiched between Sebastian and Wes. Wes was on the far right, nearest the door. Andy was curled up beside him on the left. To Andy's left sat Lincoln, and behind Lincoln on the far left sat Sebastian.

Wes was fussing over Lincoln's facial injury. It was shallow enough not to need stitches, but it was still impressive. He dressed it gently and throughly, silently cursing Hunter for using an innocent animal for such violence. That boy deserved a swift kick in the pants!

Andy was assisting Wes as best he could. He liked being Wes's little helper. He liked taking care of people. He held the first aid kit in his lap and handed Wes the supplies as he asked for them. He found a strange comfort in watching Wes work. Something about watching Wes take care of someone else made Andy himself feel better.

Lincoln was silent as Wes worked on him. He was fairly used to pain. He was use to being people's punching bag. Hunter wasn't the first and he likely wouldn't be the last. He sat still and let Wes tend to him. It was nice to have someone take care of him. Have someone actually care. It was one of the things he loved about Warblers. Even with Hunter, there had been brotherhood. The guys watched each other's backs and guarded each other's fronts. It was family...something he'd never really had a strong one of before. It was a nice change.

Seb was holding Lincoln gently in his arms as Wes cleaned him up. Hunter really was a monster. Using Puss for his dirty work. An innocent animal forced into a dark business. Sort of like they had been with the steroids. Innocent kids manipulated into doing what they KNEW was wrong. They all needed to be rescued from Hunter. Hunter had no place at Dalton. Dalton was a safe haven. People came to Dalton to heal and hide and escape and be sheltered from the outside world. It went against the values of the institution itself to have someone like Hunter there. A terroristic, heartless, narcissistic, monstrous...you come up with your own adjectives! To have someone like THAT at Dalton...it just didn't work. Thankfully, Hunt would soon be gone...hopefully forever.

Every so often they'd all glance worriedly at Jeff, who was pacing in a panic near the door. Nick had yet to show, and the blonde was starting to lose it. Every time the door opened, Jeff's head would snap to look, eyes full of hope. The expression of disappointment and defeat that crossed his face when he saw it wasn't his Nicky was heart-wrenching. The noises of distress he was making were like a cornered or injured animal. All the Warblers wanted to comfort him, but they knew better than to approach him like this. They'd get snapped at or Jeff would just flat-out break. The nightmare from earlier just exacerbated his current fear at the situation. He needed to have his little freak out. He'd be fine once Nick was back safely in his arms.

"Poor Jeffy." One of the freshmen boys whimpered.

Thad nodded in agreement. "He's at his wit's end!"

Amiri sighed. "If Nick doesn't come soon, he'll surely go mad!"

"If he hasn't already..." David muttered.

Trent smacked him. "Hush you! If you want to be useful, go order some pizzas or something!"

Just then the door flew open. As usual, Jeff looked up...and it wasn't Nick. However this time, instead of deflating, Jeff jumped up in surprise and stood straight. "HI-HO BLONDE EAGLE!" He called.

The boys all looked up excitedly as their headmistress glided into the room...quickly followed by her niece.

Isabella ran to Lincoln's side. "Oh god! Are you ok? I heard you got hurt by Hunter's..." She froze and paled at the sight of the cut on Linc's cheek "... cat."

David cussed and went to her. He forced her to sit down. "Easy there Duckling. Don't look at it. Last thing we need is you fainting on us."

Izzy nodded and looked at Lincoln's feet instead of his face. "Sorry," She blushed, "I'm a Hemophobe."

"Really?!" One of the freshman gaped, "I never would've pegged you as the bigoted, ignorant bitch type!"

Amiri smacked him upside the head. "Not HOMOPHOBE, you ignoramus! HEMOPHOBE! She's afraid of BLOOD!"

Isabella nodded. "I can handle it if I have to, but otherwise if I look at it, I'll puke or pass out."

Seb frowned and cocked his head. "What do you do when you get your period?"

Ms Mirren chuckled. "Oh trust me! It's QUITE the ordeal!"

THIS only made Ducky blush an even darker color. "Can we PLEASE talk about ANYTHING else?!"

Jeff looked at her. "Have you seen Nicky?" He asked. "Please please have you seen Nicky?"

Mrs Mirren sighed. "No...we came hoping he'd be here already."

Isabella nodded. "Gossip travels fast at Dalton."

Jeff pouted. "I wish Nicky traveled that fast."

Thad smiled at Jeff. "He just needs to take more invisible routes to avoid getting caught Jeffy." He said gently. "He'll be here soon."

Just then the door burst open and a black-haired blur ducked inside.

David grinned. "Speak of the devil and he shalt come."

"NICKY!" Jeff screamed, running to him. His cry near deafened half the people in the room.

Nicky sighed as he was wrapped tightly in Jeff's arms. He smiled softly. "I'm fine Cuckoo. But you're squashing the cat."

Jeff let go enough for Nick to pull back his bathrobe, revealing Mr. Puss curled up into his side, purring softly.

"OH MY GOD! HE'S ADORABLE!" Isabella squealed.

Nick smiled as he put the cat down. "Ya. He's actually a real sweetheart when Hunter's not in control."

Puss ran straight to Sebastian and jumped up onto the boy's lap. He yawned and curled up tight against him.

Sebastian chuckled and petted the cat. "Hey Puss. That's a good boy. That's my sweet kitty."

Nick smiled before turning back to Jeff, opening his arms. "Now can I get my hug?"

Jeff went over to Nick...and slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" Nick yelped, "What was THAT for?!"

Jeff glared at him. "Being an absolute, complete, total no-brain idiot!" However, his expression quickly softened and he smiled before leaning in and kissing Nick HEATEDLY on the lips.

The others all instantly went into cheers, laughing and clapping and wolf whistling and hollering. It was now made RATHER official that Nick and Jeff were more than just affectionate friends. They were DEFINENTLY dating now.

Nick pulled away, dizzy with lack of breath, LITERALLY kissed senseless. "What was THAT for?!"

Jeff grinned and giggled before pecking him on the cheek. "Being MY absolute, complete, total no-brain idiot!"

Wes just chuckled and shook his head fondly. He looked at the cat on Sebastian's lap and reached over and gently patted it. "Not really a monster is he?" He asked gently.

Seb shook his head. "No. He's just had some bad circumstances and bad people force him into a place where the one way he could survive was to act out."

Wes nodded with a soft smile and reached over to squeeze Seb's hand. "Sounds like some other people I know..."

Seb gulped and quickly pulled his hand away. "Yes. The Warblers. Hunter's presence this year and mine last year did have the same effect."

Wes frowned. "Sebastian...I was INCLUDING you in that comparison. You're not a monster. You were what other people made you."

Seb stiffened for a second before standing up. "I...I think I'm gonna go...order those pizzas Trent was talking about. Here." He put the now near sleeping Puss into Isabella's lap, "You can hold him for a second." He then rushed out of the room.

Isabella watched him go as she stroked the cat softly. "Well... that was sudden."

Wes nodded. Something wasn't right here. His triple B instincts were SCREAMING it. Sebastian was acting strangely, and he needed to find out why.

Thad was watching Sebastian leave worriedly. He bit his lip and had to fight a minor war inside to keep his feet planted to the floor.

Wes looked at him, wondering if he had any clue what was happening here.

Thad simply shook his head. He was just as clueless as Wes...and that was weird. While secrets were not completely unheard of between them, as the boys did have some things they needed to keep private, they were extremely rare. Sebastian and Thad told each other basically EVERYTHING! Something really bad was going on, and it had Thad worried.

They all sat and chatted for a while and prepared for the party. Sebastian returned a few minutes later, but it was clear he'd been crying. The others decided to ignore it and let the poor kid keep his dignity. Andy secretly called 'Scout's Pizzeria and Pasta-torium' and ordered the pizzas for Seb so that he had a cover. It was clear that had NOT been what he'd done out there and he'd probably forgotten he'd said he was going to.

"MOVIE TIME!" Amiri called, "By popular vote, tonight's theme shall be 'CLASSIC MONSTER MOVIES'. Any requests for the first one up?"

"Dracula!" Nick screamed happily. "Please please please? With Christopher Lee as Dracula... please?"

Amiri chuckled and winked to Wes. "You have trained them well. The boy has good taste!"

"I wanna watch 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon'!" Andy called.

Wes winced. That was the one horror film he couldn't stand. If anyone asked, he said it was just that the look of that particular monster freaked him out. Those who knew him best, however, knew the truth. Wes was severely hydrophobic after an...incident...when he was younger. The water aspect of the film just hit too close to home for him.

David quickly covered. "Sorry buddy. Don't think we have that one..."

Andy nodded. "Ok. Then 'The Wolf Man'."

"Nosferatu!" Sebastian pipped up.

"Frankenstein!" Lincoln suggested.

"Bride of Frankenstein!" Isabella grinned.

Thad was writing them all down so they had the marathon order.

Mrs Mirren laughed. "Good gracious! You boys will be up all night!"

"That's sort of the point madam..." Jeff grinned.

"OK!" Amiri clapped, "Let's get this Monster Mash started!"


	20. Hunter on the Prowl

**Here is another little chapter for you, my lovelies! I've got plans for the next big chapter, but it's taking longer than I'd expected it to and I wanted to get one out soon. I chose today because...**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERAMAN! That's right! Today is the birthday of my beautiful, amazing, intelligent, wonderful swedish friend! She is my muse, my inspiration, my often times co-writer, and the best gal pen pal that any author could ask for! I love her so much and I wanted to do something special for her, SO I wrote this little ditty especially for her birthday and I dedicate it to her! It's as close as I can get to giving her a birthday present. I hope she likes it! ;D**

**This gives us a little look into the dark and twisted mind that is Hunter Clarington. Hope it doesn't give you guys any nightmares.**

**So enough of my rambling and let's get on with the story!**

* * *

Hunter stocked down the hall, fuming. Those little twits were gonna pay. They'd pulled the last straw here. His cat! The Warbler boys had kidnapped his CAT! That was insult and injury. He may not have been particularly fond of the creature, but it was HIS! They had NO right to take it from him! Hunter didn't do sharing well. Puss was HIS property and he wanted him back NOW!

He already had a fairly good idea who'd taken the little flea-ball. It was either Nick or Sebastian.

Duval had always been a soft-hearted animal lover. Little coward was too much of a wimp to even kill his own spiders! Mouthy little twit too. Hunter smirked as he recalled the first and last time Nick had blatantly questioned his authority. He'd enjoyed hearing the little maggot scream and feeling the satisfying CRACK as he'd broken the boy's hand. It was a little extreme, maybe, but it had done what he'd meant it to. Nick and Jeff had learned their lessons. Neither had ever gone against him again.

And Smythe...well, it was OBVIOUS to Hunter why he'd take Puss. Sebastian had taken a liking to the cat the first time he'd met it. It wasn't even his cat, but he was sickeningly attached to it and protective of it. That was fine with Hunter. Didn't matter to him what Seb felt for his cat. But it was HIS CAT! Not Sebastian's. HIS! He huffed. He'd get Seb for this if it was him. In fact, he'd get him even if it wasn't him. It was fun watching the boy squirm before him when all he'd done was say something mildly suggestive of a threat. Sebastian put on a bitch mask for the world, but Hunter knew it was all lies. Sebastian was superman on the outside and a china doll on the inside. A china doll that Hunter knew well. He knew where all the cracks in the glass were and exactly how and where to push to make Sebastian shatter. And the best part was that Sebastian was alone in his misery. The boy hadn't told anyone where and why he was vulnerable, not even his precious little Thaddie. The darkest parts of Sebastian's past were a delicious secret that only he and Hunter knew about, and was the PERFECT blackmail for Hunter to hold over him.

Hunter sighed. His plans had worked perfectly until the universe had decided to throw a wrench in his gears. And that wrench's name was Weston Jonathan Montgomery-Hughes. The annoying asian was spoiling all his work. Hunter HATED him...but at the same time he didn't. It was strange and confusing to Hunter, but there was a part of him that was actually happy Wes had come. It was boring to go on and on with your power unchecked. It was too easy. Hunter liked a challenge. And Wes was certainly a challenge. Hunter might not like Wes, but he did respect him as what he was: A worthy adversary. Wes could go toe to toe with Hunter and hold his own rather well. That didn't mean he'd WIN, but Hunter knew that Wes certainly wasn't going to go down easy. And that was what would make it fun. Beating someone was always more satisfying when they put up a fight.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a phone he'd taken off one of the freshmen warblers a few weeks ago, intent on using it to lure Seb and Nick to him. However, he was surprised to see there was a new text on it. He opened it and read it, growling as he read the contents. A Warbler sleep over in the commons. So THAT'S where those bloody traitors were! He shoved the phone back in his bag and ran off down and hall.

"I GOT YOU NOW!" He roared as he made his way to the warbler commons...and the unsuspecting boys within.


	21. Wolf-men and Magic Cocoa

**Hey I'm back! **

**Sorry it took so long. Took me a while to get this chapter just right for you guys! Which brings up an important point: Guys, please don't pest me about when I'm going to update or make a big deal about how long I take. It says on my profile that I NEVER update in a regular fashion. I put the chapters up when they are done. I'm really busy with a lot of things usually, so I work when I have time to. I think the quality of my writing is more important that the quantity of chapters or quickness of update. So hang in there with me, ok? I promise if you're patient, I will always try to make it worth the wait for you. Thank you**

**Also, I need to clarify something in the last chapter. After I posted it, a few of you were wondering if there was a traitor in the Warblers. Just to set you at easy, none of the Warblers told Hunter on purpose. It was a mass text to all Warblers except Hunter, and was sent to the stolen freshman phone by mistake. It was a horrible accident, but that's exactly what it was: An accident. A mistake. No one did it on purpose.**

**Now that we've gotten all of that settled, without farther ado, let's check back in with our favorite little bird boys...**

* * *

The slumber party was now in full swing. Dean Mirren and Isabella had decided to stay the night with them. When the pizzas arrived, Seb snuck a look around, wondering who'd saved his butt. He saw Andy wink and smiled at the boy, mouthing a quick 'thank you' when no one else was looking. Dean Mirren had insisted on paying for them as a treat for her boys. They deserved it, she said. They all knew better than to argue.

They'd finished 'Dracula' long ago and had moved onto 'The Wolf Man'. Once this ended they would watch "Nosferatu" as the list dictated. Some of the boys were handling the movies well, while others were hiding behind their friends, terrified. This was quickly fixed when Nick and Jeff had gone down to the kitchen and come back with Nick's special Hot Cocoa, which was famous around Dalton and Crawford as 'Magic'.

"I'm serious Nick!" Andy giggled, "Is there ANYTHING your cocoa can't make better?"

"A Chocolate allergy." Nick deadpanned.

Jeff hit him with a pillow. "What he means to say is that there might be, but we've yet to find that situation."

Nick smiled and shoved Jeff back playfully. He looked over at Sebastian, who'd yet to take a sip of his cocoa and was staring at it. "It's ok Bas. I can't give away my secret recipe, but I can promise there is nothing related to a hazelnut in the cocoa."

"Or in the entire kitchen." Wes snorted, "Trent cleared the place out first thing when we got home after the Lima Bean."

Trent blushed scarlet. "I just wanted to be sure Seb was safe!"

"Doesn't mean the rest of us appreciate not having peanut butter for our bagels in the morning." David shot back.

Sebastian chuckled "Thank you Trent, though you should know it's only HAZELNUTS that I'm allergic to. Any other nut and I'm fine. Cashews, Walnuts, Chestnuts roasted over an open fire...all of them are safe. It's weird, I know, but it's me. Also, as much as I would physically die WITH hazelnuts, I would more so EMOTIONALLY die without peanut butter."

"Which is made ABUNDANTLY clear by the EPIC stash of Reece's cups he has under his bed." Thad smirked.

Sebastian gave Thad the middle finger disguised as pushing some hair out of his eyes. "ALSO, Thank you Nick, but that's not why I was I was staring. I guess I got lost in a flashback of sorts."

Nick frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Seb smiled softly. "No. It's fine. It was a good one." He sighed contentedly, "Whenever my little cousin Ella or I are sick or upset, one of the things that makes us feel better is some sort of hot beverage. Since my dad could basically burn WATER in the kitchen, it's always me that makes it. And since Ella is addicted to chocolate and apple juice, I usually make her either Hot Apple Cider or Hot Cocoa. It's...sort of our thing. We'll just sit together sipping on our drinks, talking or not, and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes we'll watch tv or a movie. Sometimes we'll sit and sing together. It's...nice." He shook his head. "She goes to a boarding school in West Virginia, so I don't see her much during the school year now that I'm at Dalton, but we're still really close."

Niff and Trent awed softly before Seb chucked a pillow at them, growling for them to shut up.

Thad laughed and hugged him. "They don't mean anything by it Bas." He soothed, "We just rarely get to see you be all soft. It's...sweet."

Seb rolled his eyes and took a swig of the cocoa, slowly relaxing and laying back into Thad's embrace.

Nick smiled and pulled out his phone. He opened his list of things his cocoa could successfully fix and added "Upset Sebastian" before putting it away again.

Isabella squeaked and hid in Lincoln's shoulder during a scene in the movie with blood, just like she had during Dracula. Lincoln comforted her.

"Really?" David scoffed, "Come on! The blood isn't even that realistic!"

Lincoln turned and glared at him. "And the rat Jeff put under your toilet was rubber! Still scared you so bad you wet through your pants! Dude! Shut up!"

David blushed scarlet. "I did NOT wet through!"

"Your unmanly shriek and sudden change of PJ bottoms would beg to differ." Lincoln challenged. "You want me to continue, or are you gonna stop mocking Isabella?"

David looked at the floor. "Sorry Ducky..."

Linc smiled. "Much better"

Amiri laughed. "Looks like Lincoln's a little protective of Izzy." he whispered to Wes.

"A little?" Wes smirked.

They both chuckled, clearly seeing the other little couple beginning to form.

Just then, a little freshman tugged on Amiri's sleeve.

Amiri looked down gently. "Hey there buddy. Something the matter?"

"Scared..." Was all the boy managed to mumble.

Amiri sighed. "Come 'ere squirt."

He reached down and scooped the boy into his lap. He got him securely cuddled in his arms and waited for him to relax before he spoke again ."Now, what's got you so scared?"

"It's stupid..." The boy mumbled.

"Hey now! NOTHING is stupid to be scared of." Amiri said softly, "If you're scared of it you're scared of it. Simple as that. Now, tell me what's got you spooked."

"I...I'm scared the monsters are gonna come get me." He admitted softly, eyeing the doors warily.

Amiri smiled. "Was that so hard? Now, I'm not gonna say its stupid, but you have no reason to be scared of it." He looked around the room, speaking a little louder so all the boys could hear him. "You boys are safe here. No monsters are going to get you here. Nothing BAD is going to come through those doors ever again."

Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder on the movie, and the doors to the commons burst open with a crash and an inhuman roar. The boys all screamed in genuine terror. For there in the door way stood the creature of their nightmares.

A disheveled, feral, roid raging Hunter Clarington.


	22. The Cat In The Bird's Nest

**Hey guys I'm back!**

**Hope you guys didn't die from the cliffhanger I left you with! I would promise never to do that again...but if I did I'd be lying ;D You'll just have to put up with me!**

**Anyway! So Eraman and I have recently discovered that we both should not plot stories when we are sleep deprived. When we are tired, we get VERY sadistic with our characters. Then again, sometimes that makes for the best stories ;) LOL! So on that note be warned, THIS chapter was written when I was mildly sleep deprived, so expect a few angsty details.**

**HOPE YOU LIKE IT!**

**And now...back to our boys!**

* * *

_Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder in the movie, and the doors to the commons burst open with a crash and an inhuman roar. The boys all screamed in genuine terror. For there in the door way stood the creature of their nightmares._

_A dishevel, feral, roid raging Hunter Clarington._

Almost immediately, the boys bolted to hide behind someone safe. The popular choices were Wes and Amiri, who they knew Hunter was afraid of. Others hid behind Mrs Mirren, knowing Hunter would never attack a figure of authority so obviously above him. A few even hid behind Isabella, remembering that Hunter couldn't hit a girl.

"Leave!" Wes growled, "You are not welcome here any longer."

"Wes don't!" Andy squeaked, "He's on a roid rage!"

"Don't care." Wes said, "I've kicked his butt on a rage before, I can do it again!"

"Where," Hunter seethed, "is my cat!?"

"He's not yours anymore!" Nick yelled, safely behind Amiri, "You abuse him, you lose him!"

"So YOU took my cat!" Hunter yelled, "How DARE you!"

"How dare HE?!" Thad cried, "How dare YOU?! Terrorizing and hurting us over and over I could maybe see as just you being a douche! But torturing your own CAT?! THAT'S JUST SICK!"

"Thad," Sebastian pleaded worriedly, pulling the boy back. "Please! Calm down! You'll hurt yourself! Stop!" He leaned in and whispered in Thad's ear, "Please. You know this sort of stress isn't good for you. You're still healing from the surgery over the summer. Think about your heart..."

Thad sighed, calming down. He nodded and whispered to Seb. "Ok Bas. I'm ok. I'm calm. I'll relax if you do. Honestly, you're starting to sound like Kurt fussing over his dad!"

Seb chuckled, his arms tightening protectively around Thad. "Well, I guess me and Lady Hummel have a few things in common."

Hunter gagged loudly. "If you two lovebirds are quite done..."

"Oh shut up!" Amiri snapped, "Being a dick doesn't make yours bigger!"

"Do you want to fight me?" Hunter challenged.

"With PLEASURE!" Amiri smirked.

Hunter laughed wickedly. "Bring it on, Ren-Fest!"

Amiri pinched the bridge of his nose, a tick he had that meant he was REALLY frustrated. "Do you know what I DO at the Renaissance Festival? I work there...making SWORDS. Real iron and steel swords. And I know how to use them!"

Hunter scoffed. "Ya, but you haven't got those here now. Just drove into the lot in that beat up old piece of crap pickup."

Amiri laughed. "REALLY?! THAT is the best you can do?! Insulting my TRUCK?! Wow! You're really off your game tonight aren't you?" He shook his head sadly, "Sticks and stones may break my bones...but your words are utter bullshit."

Hunter roared and launched at Amiri, going for the throat. Many of the boys screamed in terror.

Suddenly, a blur of white fur catapulted itself off the couch at Hunter. Hunter fell to the ground screaming as the cat dug its claws into its former master's face. He tried in vain to pry the cat off, but Puss's claws were dug in tight.

Wes and Amiri ran to help, though it was more for Puss's safety than Hunter's. They didn't want Hunter to kill the cat trying to get it off his face. But try as they might, even they couldn't get the hissing and spitting feline to release.

"PUSS!" Sebastian commanded gently, "Come!"

Like flipping a switch, the claws pulled out and tucked back into their sheaths. Puss jumped off Hunter and scampered over to Sebastian and Thad, where he sat patiently at their feet until he was picked up by Sebastian. He curled up peacefully in his arms and purred.

Hunter was helped to his feet by Wes and Amiri. He shook off their help once he was again standing stably. His face and hair were a mess of bloody scratches. Puss had really done his work well.

"Good boy..." Seb whispered, scratching the cat lovingly behind the ears.

Puss purred louder, nuzzling into Seb's hand.

Hunter gaped in shock. "How did you..."

"Face it Hunter," Thad smirked triumphantly, "The cat prefers Sebastian."

"Puss might as well be his cat now." Nick said simply.

Hunter growled, stomping towards Sebastian. "YOU DARE STEAL MY..."

Puss hissed loudly and arched in Sebastian's arms, ready again to attack the threat to his new master.

Hunter froze and backed up, not keen to have that be a repeat performance. He tried in vain to think of a way to keep power in this situation. Finally he huffed loudly. "FINE! You like the stupid little fleabag so much?! You keep it! Damn little mangy rat trap is all yours! God knows I never liked it anyway!" He started to storm out. Just as he got to the door, however, he stopped. He smirked darkly, before saying sweetly. "It was a gift from a mutual friend of ours. V is going to be so happy to hear Puss went to live with you!" He winked and walked out the door.

Sebastian was completely rigid. His eyes went wide, his pupils pinpoints of panic, tears of fear forming. He went a deathly pale and looked as if he were about to be sick. His breath hitched and quickened till he was badly hyperventilating. Then he started shaking violently, his legs slowly going out from under him.

"BAS!" Thad cried. He grabbed Seb under the arm pits to catch him, lowering him slowly to the floor.

Nick ran over and took Puss from Seb's arms so he wasn't dropped.

Trent ran over with an empty popcorn bucket. He got it under Seb's chin just in time for the boy to be sick in it. It was well-known to all the Warblers that Sebastian had a nervous stomach. When he panicked...he puked.

David came over with some water and put it to Seb's lips gently. "Here Bas. You're ok. Small sips. Breathe! Come on Bas. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. There you go bud! That's it."

Seb's breathing had calmed, though the shaking had not. He was muttering under his breath. "He's gonna tell...He's gonna tell V..."

Wes went over to his little brothers. He'd noticed a pattern and he had figured out at least some of what Hunter had held over Sebastian. He tried to soothe the shaken bird. "It's ok little mockingbird. You're safe here. Whoever this V person Hunter is threatening you with is, they can't hurt you here. We're here to protect you."

Seb whimpered and curled into Thad and Wes's arms. "If he tell's V where I am...I have to leave again. V can't find me...V can't find me here."

"Exactly." Mrs Mirren soothed, "That monster can't find you here. V is far away from here and wouldn't risk coming here just for you when getting caught means being locked away."

They all looked to Mrs Mirren. She knew Seb's story! They shouldn't have been surprised, but for some reason they were. A lot of them felt more relaxed. At least someone knew. Maybe...when Seb was ready...he'd let them know too.

Seb relaxed, listening to her logic. He nodded, but still looked scared.

Jeff brought him a little Hershey's chocolate bar. "Eat. It helps."

Seb nodded in thanks and nibbled gently on it, the sugar helping to stop some of his shaking.

Thad stroked Seb's hair gently. "Do...do you think it'd help to call your dad...or Ella?"

Seb nodded fervently. "Ella. Ella please."

Thad smiled softly and pulled out his phone. "If all else fails...Seb's little cousin can ALWAYS calm him down." He dialed the number and pressed call before handing the phone to Sebastian.

Seb took the phone gently and put it to his ear, waiting for his little Eli-Bear to pick up.


	23. Flight of Fury

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait! Been busy and have had KILLER writers block with this for a while. Hopefully will have more time and inspiration soon.**

**Thank you all for your follows and reviews! You have no idea what they mean to me. Keep them coming and don't be afraid to ask questions or give ideas. I LOVE FEEDBACK!**

**Now, this is gonna be a short one, but hopefully the next chapter will be finished soon and you'll get more!**

**So without farther ado...actually, no. We are NOT "checking back in with our favorite boys" this time. This time...let's check in on our least favorite boy: Hunter Clarington...**

* * *

Hunter stormed into his dorm room and grabbed his bags. He was not waiting for tomorrow's bus. He was leaving tonight! He had played the first card in one of his better hands tonight, and he wasn't going to stick around and let the whole game be spoiled. He knew that if he waited for the bus tomorrow, he'd likely be leaving in handcuffs on a jail bus. This could not be allowed. And so he finished packing his things.

As he got to Puss's things, he growled. The ungrateful little fleabag! It would someday pay for double-crossing him. He'd lied when he said the cat was a gift from V, but Sebastian didn't need to know that. The threat would have the boy traumatized for a while now. In truth, it had been given to him by his cousin, the little goodie two shoes thinking the cat might help Hunter soften up and learn how to be affectionate. Hunter would never say it aloud...for risk of receiving his mother's wrath...but he honestly thought the guy was brain-damaged. How could a stupid animal help him be more intimate with others? It couldn't even talk! He honestly wondered for his cousin's sanity. Oh well! The weirdo was as loyal as any dog and did anything Hunter told him to. The perfect henchman.

He shook his head and set to work on Puss's things. He put rat poison in the cat's food so that if the warblers tried to use it the cat would die, though he doubted even they would be that stupid. All the cat toys he eviscerated of their stuffing and threw in the garbage. He threw the cat bed out his window into the campus pond. Lastly he put the wasted filled litter box by the door. He had special plans for that.

He pulled out all his Dalton gear: Uniforms, Sweatshirts, Sweatpants, Folders, Notebooks, Ties...anything he could easily destroy. And destroy he did, ripping and chopping them up and sending them through the paper shredder till they were beyond recognition. He threw the remains in the trashcan with the cat toys. All the other things he couldn't destroy he shoved in the toilet and pissed on. If they school was gonna disrespect him, he sure as hell wasn't going to respect it.

"There!" He said, zipping his fly, "This'll show those prep school princess-boys EXACTLY what I think of them." He then left the bathroom, flushing the toilet as he did, knowing it would ROYALLY screw up the plumbing.

Back in his room, he finished throwing all his stuff in a bag. He called his cousin to come get him, and hung up once he was assured that the man would be there in about 20 minutes. He grabbed his stuff and stormed out the door. Now it was time to put the litter box to good use...and say goodbye to Dean Mirren in the only way he saw fit.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed Hunter's little tantrum! Next time we will check in on the Warblers. Until then, I bid you farewell!**


	24. Call of the Mockingbird

**Hey guys! I'm back!**

**This chapter came WAY faster than I expected it to. It sort of just rolled off my fingers. So I hope you like it!**

**Now, without farther ado...let's check in on one of our favorite little boys: Sebastian!**

* * *

The phone rang a few times before it was answered. "What did Drill Sergeant Dip-Shit do now, Thad?" Ella said, "I swear to God, if he's not thrown out soon I'm going to..."

"Elibear?" Seb whimpered.

Ella froze for a minute. "Bazzy? Oh god! What happened Bas?! What did that ass do now? Do I need to get the swarm together?"

"He...He's gonna tell El." Seb shivered, "He knows all about V...and he's gonna tell everyone...and then reveal where I am."

Ella gasped. "But...but I thought you said he was BLUFFING?! Do...do you really think he'd tell V where you are?"

"I don't know," Seb gulped, "But if he does...what do I do? Do I have to leave Dalton?"

Ella sighed. "I think first...we need to tell your dad. There is no reason to pull you out of another school, but I do think we need to get you some sort of formal protection. Your Warbler brothers can only do so much...speaking of which..."

"No!" Seb jumped in. "No Ella! I...I can't! I can't tell them! Please...I..."

"Bazzy" Ella said softly, "You need to tell them. At least Wes and Thad. Those two you trust, ya? Them you could start with. They need to know so they can protect you. Plus...would you rather they find out through you or through Commander Crazy-Cut-Throat?"

"I..." Seb stuttered, "I WANT to tell them but...I...I can't Elibear. I...I just CAN'T! The...the words won't come."

Ella sighed. "You could ask Mirren to tell them for you?"

Seb thought about it. "No. I...I want to be the one to tell them. But...I'm not ready to tell any of them yet. Not ready for ANYONE new to know yet."

Ella sighed. "Ok Bazzy. But you can't put this off forever. Sooner or later, one way or another, like it or not, it IS gonna come out."

"I know." Seb whispered. "I'm hoping for later. Like...MUCH later. Maybe...AFTER I graduate...from grad school?"

"Wishful thinking Bas." Ella said gently, "You know it's not realistic to hope it'll stay quiet forever. Plus, it's not healthy to bottle it all up"

Seb sighed, "I know. I KNOW...but..is it wrong for me to hope it will? That I'll have more time to sort this shit out on my own."

"Not wrong." Ella said. "But also not helpful. From what it sounds like, time is not on your side. Plus...you've tried the 'work it out on your own' method for a few years now, and it hasn't exactly worked out well for you."

Seb chuckled weakly. "How is it that I'm the older one, yet you're the wiser one?"

Ella giggled. "I'm not wiser. Just calmer at the moment. You'd be thinking just as clearly if Hunter hadn't frazzled your nerves."

Seb sighed, relaxing a little. "That he did. But the Warblers have me covered just like Carter and the Hornets did when I went to school with you."

"That's great Bazzy. Glad you have...OH!" Ella said suddenly, "About Carter... I meant to tell you this earlier...he's packing up his bags right now...with plans to head to Westerville."

Seb's eyes bugged. "WHAT?! Are you serious?! He's planning to pack up, leave his post at the school, and drive all the way from West Virginia to Ohio just because of me?!"

"You and Hunter." Ella smiled softly. "He said he's seen people like Hunter before, and he isn't going to let that... some very naughty words I will not repeat...get away without a serious stinging. Half the Hornets wanted to come with him. The Honeybees were the same way. Carter was able to convince them that you wouldn't want them to leave school for you, but it took him a LONG time."

Seb let out a shaky breath. "I...I didn't realize they still cared about me so much."

"Well of course they do silly!" Ella giggled, "Just because you left doesn't mean we don't still all think of you as one of us! What was that motto you told me the Dalton boys have?"

Seb smiled. "Once a Warbler, Always a Warbler."

"Well, there you go!" Ella said. "The same mentality is true for us. Just because a honeybee leaves her hive..."

"...Or a hornet leaves his nest..." Seb added in.

Ella chuckled. "Right...just because they leave doesn't mean they've left the swarm forever. Just set out to make a new colony somewhere else. You went from one nest to another. From the hornet's nest to the bird's nest."

Seb snickered. "Guess you could say..."

"I swear to god Bas! If you make a pun about 'the birds and the bees'..." Ella warned.

Seb laughed. "You know me WAY too well sometimes."

"I've lived with you and your dad since I was 6." Ella smirked, "It's impossible for me NOT to."

Seb sighed contentedly. "I love you Elibear."

"I love you more Bazzy-boo." Ella said sweetly, "You gonna be ok now?"

Seb gulped. "Ya...I think I will be. For a little while at least. I have my bird brothers to take care of me."

"Ok." Ella said, "Call whenever you need me. I'm ALWAYS here for you."

"I know." Seb smiled softly, "Though I should let you go. I remember you said you have a big speech meet tomorrow, and you need to get your sleep."

"Right," Ella yawned, "Sweet Dreams Sebastian."

"Good Night Ella." Sebastian said, before hanging up the phone. He dried his eyes and looked around at the other Warblers...who he suddenly remembered had probably heard every word of that. Oh...well...crap! Now he had some SERIOUS explaining to do...

* * *

**Ok! So I need your help with the next chapter! I need questions for the Warblers to ask Sebastian. So write in the reviews any questions YOU have or any questions you think the characters would have. About the conversation, about Ella, About Sebastian, About the Honeybees and Hornets, About Carter, etc...**

**Some questions will be answered, some will not. Only time will tell. So what are you waiting for? ASK AWAY!**


	25. Burning Questions

**HEY GUYS!**

**Thank you ALL for your questions and suggestions in the reviews. THEY are the reason that this chapter got written so well and so quickly. If you reviewed with a question, keep an eye out in this chapter to see where it was used. Give yourselves a BIG round of applause. You all helped out BIG time with this chapter. If THIS isn't proof that I write better with feedback, I don't know what is!**

**ATTENTION! IMPORTANT MESSAGE!**

**Ok. So in the end of this chapter, I am introducing a new character, Emanuel Anderson, nicknamed Viper. He is a character Eraman created for me to use based off of her (Thank you by the way Eraman ;D). I'm going to make this clear now so I don't get a thousand frantic reviews and questions from you guys. _VIPER IS NOT 'V'! 'V' IS NOT VIPER_! They are two very separate people who know nothing about each other...yet. Emanuel is a good guy. "V" is not. There is no need for you, my poor little sweetie pies, to worry. Seb is perfectly safe...for now.**

**Now that we have that settled, without farther ado, let's get back to our favorite boys and answer SOME of your many questions :D**

* * *

The Warblers all looked to Seb worriedly. No one really knew what was happening. No one knew what to say...or if they should say anything at all. The room was dead silent.

Seb sighed and put Thad's phone down on the table. "Ok...fire when ready."

Jeff shook his head. "Bas...what's going on? why did you get so upset?"

Seb smiled sadly. "So many things Cuckoo...SO many things."

Thad went over and wrapped a blanket around Seb gently. "Are you better now Bas?"

Seb snuggled into the warmth of the blanket "Ya...thanks. I...I really needed that."

Thad nodded, clearing his throat. "So...who is this Carter? Ex-boyfriend?"

Amiri snorted at how OBVIOUS Thad was about trying to hide his jealousy.

Seb chuckled and took Thad's hand. "Carter is Scarab's real name."

Thad blushed. "Oh..."

"Scarab?" Andy asked.

"He's a student teacher at my old school." Seb explained. "He was Head Hornet when I first went there."

"Head what?!" Lincoln asked.

"Hornet." Seb said simply.

"What are the Hornets?" Andy asked.

"And what are the Honeybees?" Nick asked.

It was obvious the Warblers were getting even more confused.

Seb sighed. "You know how I said my cousin Ella goes to a boarding school in West Virginia? Well, I use to go there too. It's a co-ed school with two show choirs: The Hornets and The Honeybees. Hornets are the boy's choir. Honeybees are the girls. The captain of the Hornets is unofficially called the Head Hornet. The leader of the Honeybees is the Queen-bee. The youngest a captain can be is a sophomore and they stay captain until they graduate unless they are overthrown by the swarm. Carter was the captain of the Hornets when I came to the school. He when he was a senior and graduated, he passed it on to the next kid. However, when he decided to study education in college, the school offered him a student teaching position with them. He works as a tutor, substitute teacher, TA, and a head of the dorm staff."

"Basically, the Big Brother Bird of Seb's old school" Thad summarized.

The Warblers all nodded. That at least they understood now.

Wes went over and sat by Sebastian. "Why would you leave Dalton?"

Sebastian shivered. "Because that's what I did last time. V knew where I was at my old school. So...I had to leave. THAT is why I went to Paris to live with my mom. I needed to go somewhere V couldn't find me until the police had that monster in custody...which they never did. V was never brought to trial and is still living somewhere in West Virginia. I'm not safe there. So dad got me enrolled in Dalton...where he THOUGHT I'd be safe. If Hunter tells where I am...then that's it. I need to leave. Because then I wouldn't be safe here either. V would know where I was and WOULD come after me again." He was shaking hard in fear now at the very thought.

Wes pulled his brother close. "Sshhh...it's ok little Mockingbird. It's alright. I'm here. You're safe now. V can't hurt you. I promise. No one will find you. Dalton will protect you."

Seb's eyes slipped shut as his body relaxed, lulled into security by Wes's words. He trusted Wes. Wes would never let anyone or anything hurt him.

"What I'm wondering," David said, "Is how Hunter knew? How did he know what V did? How does he know who V even is?"

"Hunter said it himself," Trent said sadly, "He does his research. ANYONE who he wants the upper hand on, he will dig up dirt on till he can find something he can use against them."

"He...He meant it about him and V being old friends" Seb whispered. "He's showed me pictures as proof. He DOES know V."

"Probably went to the same rehab." Nick joked softly. A few people laughed...but Sebastian didn't.

"Actually..." Seb gulped. "They did."

Nick went bug-eyed. "Wait! WHAT?!"

Seb sighed. "Hunter has been evaluated before for his drug use in the past. V...is HARDCORE into a lot of shit. Should've gotten treatment a LONG time ago...but no one really noticed there was a problem till it was too late."

"Until YOU got hurt." Thad clarified. "No one cared what V did until YOU got hurt and someone with more than half a brain was given a reason to give a shit."

"Yes and No." Seb said. "It was me getting hurt that shown the light on the issue. But it wasn't that people didn't care. It really was that they didn't notice. V was VERY good at appearing like a normal, functioning human being." He sighed, "Plus, it's not even really the drugs that caused the problem. Plenty of people do drugs, get off them, and are fine. Heck! If the drugs were what made them monsters, we'd all be SCREWED!"

The warblers all laughed, though it was somewhat forced.

Sebastian shook his head, "No...the steroids just emphasized the issue that was already there. I mean...I guess you're sort of right Goldie. The real issue was that no one cared enough to stop them and ever tell them 'No'. The danger in them is that they've been built up to an untouchable state of entitlement."

The warblers all nodded in agreement. Nothing in the world is more dangerous than someone so entitled they won't take 'No' as answer.

"I would really like to know who this 'V' is, how bad they are, and why Sebastian is so scared of them?" Amiri said.

Seb tensed harshly.

"BUT," Wes jumped in quickly, "Seb doesn't have to tell us right now...not till he's ready."

"It must be something pretty major if Sebastian is so shaken up about it." Isabella whispered to her aunt.

Dean Mirren simply nodded, "It is..."

"Is this 'V' the source of your merinthophobia?" Amiri asked seriously.

Seb sighed. "Not the original source...but what happened definently made my phobia worse..."

"Bas..." Jeff said softly. "Your old life... Why so much secret?"

"Why can't you tell us?" Nick frowned.

"Do you not trust us?" Trent pouted.

"Why don't you trust us?" Lincoln wondered.

"Please tell us?" Andy begged.

Seb closed his eyes. "No...guys...I...It's not that I don't trust you it's just..." He sighed, "Look...It's just a really personal thing for me, ok? What V did to me...it scarred me for a long time. I'm trying to get better at talking about it but...that's with people who already KNOW about it. Telling NEW people what happened...having to explain it to someone who has no idea...THAT is a level of acceptance I've yet to reach. I'm getting there...but I'm not there yet."

They all nodded. They could understand the feeling. Many of them had come to Dalton for traumatic reasons. They knew it took time to open up and trust people with your story.

"Why does Ella live with you and your dad?" David asked, trying to change the subject. "I heard her say she's lived with you since she was 6?"

Seb gulped, this obviously being another hard topic for him. "Ella's mother was...she died when Ella was five. Then her dad...he's not dead but...he can't take care of Ella anymore. That's...a different story. THAT is where my Merinthrophobia came from. And...it's not just my story. It's Ella's too."

Wes held Seb to his chest, stroking his hair softly. "Let's not talk about this anymore, ok?"

Seb nodded and snuggled closer. "Ok."

They all agreed. They could see that all of this was just making Seb more upset.

Amiri picked up the remote, "Cool! So we missed a bit of the movie. Let me just rewind the..."

The doors suddenly burst open again. The Warblers all jumped in fright...but relaxed when they saw it wasn't Hunter. Instead, there stood a rather panicked boy in flannel pajamas.

Wes looked to Thad, "Who's that?"

"Emanuel Anderson." Thad explained, "Vice chairman of the student council. He's a junior. He's on the Lacrosse team. Friend of Sebastian's."

Seb jumped to his feet, looking worried. He ran over to the boy. "Viper! What's wrong?"

Emanuel caught his breath as he spoke. "Heard...screaming...thought...you guys...in trouble. Went...to get Dean..."

"I'm right here Mr Anderson." Mrs Mirren said calmly.

Emanuel looked to her, eyes widening. "Dean Mirren! Thank god I found you! It's an emergency!"

The Warblers laughed. "She's already here! I think she knows what happened!"

Viper shook his head. "No...not that. I was searching the school for Mrs Mirren, but I couldn't find her. Then I thought that she might already be here. So I came this way. But on the way here, I passed through administration hall again." He looked to the Dean again. "Mrs Mirren, there is SMOKE coming out of your office! Something in there is on FIRE!"

* * *

**Hope that answered at least some of your questions...and left you with more!**

**Until next time, keep reviewing and I'll try to keep writing**


	26. Smoked Out Under The Stars

**Hi guys! Here's the next chapter for you! I've been on a roll lately with this story! Not sure how long it'll last, but I'm gonna ride it while I can!**

**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

**Ok! So, I've got a lot of praise for my back story for Sebastian and how detailed and thought through it is. Especially the piece with V and what happened to Seb that made him need to transfer. Before this goes any farther, I need to make something clear so that I don't get in trouble for it later. The piece with V was inspired by a movie I saw a while ago. I will not say what movie until I reveal Seb's back story, as to not spoil it (though if you want spoilers feel free to message me and I will tell you), but I needed to make it clear that there are some ideas and pieces in the story that I borrowed from the movie. Seb's back story doesn't follow the plot movie exactly, but there are specific plot pieces I will be using in my story. I am the type of writer who tries her best to give credit to the people truly responsible when I use things in my writing that are not exclusively my own, even if it is just little ideas. I'm not always perfect about it, but I do try. Otherwise I'm plagiarizing someone else's brilliance which is NOT ok! Not only would that be most likely against the rule of this site (which could get a story removed/ account deleted), but also could be considered illegal (which could mean getting sued/arrested). Though, for me it's more about my own morals and beliefs than the rules and laws. I've had my work stolen before and it's the worst feeling ever! **PLAGIARISM IS NOT OK! **So I'm making it clear now that not all of things in Seb's back story are my exclusive, original material. Most are, but not all and I refuse to pretend to own something I don't.**

**Thank you!**

**Now that I've had my little rant/disclaimer/warning, without farther ado, let's return to our boys!**

* * *

_He looked to the Dean again. "Mrs Mirren, there is SMOKE coming out of your office! Something in there is on FIRE!"_

The room was dead silent for a minute before erupting into panic.

"WHAT?!" Isabella cried.

"There is smoke coming from the dean's office!" Emanuel repeated.

"The school is on fire!" Nick squeaked.

"We're all gonna die!" Andy screamed.

"Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!" Lincoln whimpered.

Many of the boys started screaming and crying in fear.

Wes tried banging his gavel to get order, but even that didn't work.

Seb, strangely calm, got up on the council table. He put his fingers to his lips and let out a long, loud, shrill whistle. This caused the room to go silent.

"Thank you Sebastian." Wes sighed. He looked around at his boys. "OK! First of all, the school is NOT on fire yet! There is smoke coming from the Dean's office. That is a small isolated place on this huge campus. It very well may be a small trashcan fire that can be put out in seconds! We are NOT going to die! However, for the sake of safety, we all need to evacuate the buildings and call the fire department. David! Thad! You two take the boys out to the parking lot, and pull the fire alarm on the way out. Mrs Mirren and Isabella can evacuate the staff buildings. Amiri and I will evacuate all the nearby dorms. NO ONE goes to the Dean's office to try to play hero. We just got ONE Warbler out of the hospital. We do NOT need another one going in! Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" They all nodded.

Wes nodded. "Alright! Then let's go! NOW!"

* * *

45 minutes later, and the Warblers were all gathered out in the parking lot. They were slowly being joined by other students. They could hear the fire alarms blaring inside.

Thad and Sebastian were talking to Emanuel and some of Seb's other lacrosse team members. Just as Seb had predicted, they thought the wheelchair prank was hilarious and weren't mad at all. The boys were now telling them all that had happened with Hunter. They all looked adequately appalled by what they were hearing. Emanuel reached over and hugged Sebastian tightly.

"I'm so so sorry Seb!" Viper whispered, "I should've seen it! I should've done something! I'm the Vice President of the student council for crying out loud! This stuff is my JOB!"

Seb hugged back. "It's ok Emanuel. You couldn't have known. It's not your fault."

"There are SO many things I'm going to do to that boy next I see him..." Emanuel growled.

Thad smiled. "Well, hopefully that won't be for a while. He got expelled tonight and leaves campus tomorrow."

Emanuel sighed. "Thank god for that!"

* * *

Jeff and Nick were curled up in the back of Amiri's truck with Puss on their laps. Jeff's ankle had started bothering him and he'd need to sit down. The two were now tucked up together under a spare blanket, looking at the stars above them.

"Nicky?" Jeff asked softly.

"Ya Jeff?" Nick turned to look at him.

"There's something I've been wondering." Jeff said, shifting a little closer to Nick. "The day that Hunter broke your hand...did...did you hear any of the things I said to you?"

Nick sighed. He wanted to say yes and make Jeff feel better, but he knew the blonde would see through any lie he ever told. "No Jeff. I didn't. And if I did, it got blacked out of my memory with all the rest of the incident. I remember him grabbing me...then just this white pain...and then it's all blackness...and then I was waking up in the hospital with you next to me."

Jeff gulped and nodded. "Ok...maybe that's good. From what I saw...it's not something you'd wanna remember."

Nick nodded and petted Puss, who was purring in his sleep.

* * *

Wes and Amiri had finished evacuating the dorms long ago. They were standing with Mrs Mirren and Isabella, who had evacuated the staff already. They all watched as the firemen pulled up and rushed into the building.

"What do you think it was, Aunt Judy?" Isabella asked softly.

Mrs Mirren sighed. "I don't know, Izzy. I really don't know."

"Hunter probably." Amiri said, "Checked his room when I was evacuating his hallway. Room is trashed. Toilet plugged with pissed on Dalton gear. Trash can full of trashed gear and massacred cat toys. Saw the cat bed floating in the lake out the window. The cat food was still there...but I think we'd better chuck it out. It looked way too untouched for Hunter NOT to have pissed on it or poisoned it or something. And the kid is gone. Must've snuck out sometime when we weren't watching."

Wes sighed. "I think we need more proof than a trashed dorm room to label someone an arsonist."

Isabella pointed to the firemen coming out of the building. "I think we have it."

They all looked to see the smoking, charred remains of Puss's litter box being carried out of the building.

"Flaming cat poop on my doorstep." Mrs Mirren sighed, "You'd think Hunter could've at least been a BIT more original."

* * *

Andy and Lincoln were sitting in the grass with Trent and David.

"Ten bucks says Hunter had something to do with this." David snorted.

Trent nodded. "20 bucks says he set the fire as a sort of 'last goodbye' to Dalton."

"50 bucks says he's already skipped campus." Lincoln smirked.

"Gambling is bad! Stop it!" Andy scolded. "What would Wes say?!"

They all nodded, going silent.

Andy sighed, "Besides...It's pretty obvious Hunter did this." He gestured to the fireman carrying the burned litter box, "And that he's has skipped campus. He's the only Dalton boy not out here. I've watched." Andy shook his head and leaned back against Trent's shoulder, "And...I'd bet 100 bucks that this isn't his 'last goodbye'...this is only the first thing on his hit list."

* * *

***Ominous music*  
**

**Until next time dear readers!**


	27. The Snow Streaking Story

**Hey Guys! Emergency! I NEED HELP!**

**Ok, so I put in a warning on my last chapter that I was basing the V piece of Seb's back story on a movie and I needed to give credit to the movie. After posting the chapter, however, I had a massive panic attack because I realized some things. A) The back story I had planned would NOT work because this story is a rated T and the V piece of Seb's back story bordered on rated M. I can't use it. B) The pieces I used for my Seb back story were just WAY too close to the plot of the movie for me to feel ok about it. I can't feel right using it even if I did credit the film. It's not mine and I don't want to inadvertently plagiarise something. It's just not something I can morally do. SO! I've decided to COMPLETELY change the V piece of Seb's back story. All of the parts of his back story that are my original work will stay the same, but the V piece needs an MAJOR overhaul. And that leads me to my 3rd reason to panic. C) I have no clue what to change it too! I NEED YOUR HELP! If any of you have any ideas or theories of who V could be or what could've happened to Seb, I need you to tell me! ****_Dolphin444wssc! Eraman! MarchingbandGleek XD! lucky333123! _****That means YOU especially! Read over what I've written so far and tell me what YOU think happened! Obviously I will credit you for the back story! I think this whole thing has proven it's physically impossible for me NOT to! This is your time to tell me what YOU want to read people! TAKE IT!**

**Also, for those that are curious, the movie I was originally inspired by is a canadian TV movie Grant Gustin did called "A Mother's Nightmare". If you know the movie, you know why I can't use it. If you don't know the movie, feel free to look it up to get an idea of what I WAS planning BEFORE and what will ****NOT **** be happening the story now that THAT plan has been scrapped.**

**Thank you all again for your love and support. You guys are the reason I didn't go with my original panicked instinct and just take this whole story down.**

**Now, I know there is a rule about having authors notes with no chapters. And since I am OBVIOUSLY not made to break rules, without farther ado, HERE is tonight's chapter!**

* * *

After about an hour, the firemen deemed the building safe to return to. The Warblers all headed to the commons while the rest of the boys were shepherded back off to bed. Emanuel was invited to join the Warbler party if he so wished, but he said he'd had enough excitement for one night and didn't want to intrude on such a sacred Warbler tradition. And so he and Seb hugged goodnight and parted ways.

Once back in the commons, most of the boys were exhausted. They all crawled into their assorted sleeping establishments and curled up, ready for bed. Wes smiled and went to turn off the lights.

"WAIT!" Lincoln cried, "Wes! You haven't told us a story yet!"

Wes chuckled, "Aren't you boys too tired?"

They all shook their heads, though most betrayed themselves by yawning.

Wes smirked. "See? You boys need to go to bed."

"Oh please Wes!" Trent begged.

"Pretty please!" Jeff pouted.

"Pretty extra special please with sprinkles?" Andy said, trying his hardest to look cute.

Amiri shook his head, laughing. "Just tell them a short story Wes. They'll probably all be asleep half way through anyway."

Wes sighed mellow dramatically, "Oh alright! ONE story! But then you little birdies hit the nest."

"YAY!" They all cheered.

Wes smiled warmly, "Ok! Should I tell a fictional story? Or something I remember from when I was a little warbler?"

"LITTLE WARBLER!" Trent said, "Oh! Tell a little Wes warbler story! Those are always the best!"

Wes nodded. "Alright. Let's see...oh! I've got one!" He smiled warmly. "When I first came to Dalton, there use to be a thing called 'The Underwear 500'."

"Oh god." Amiri laughed, "I remember that!"

"As do I." Mrs Mirren sighed, shaking her head, "Honestly! The THINGS teenage boys will come up with..."

"What was it Wes?" Seb asked softly, already drifting off.

Wes smirked, "It was a Dalton tradition where, on the eve of the first snow fall, all the boys who lived in the dorms would go outside to the campus lake. We'd strip down to our underwear and do laps around the lake in nothing but our boxers!"

The boys who were still awake all giggled.

"Why?" Thad asked.

Wes shrugged. "No one knows. It was just a tradition that had always been there."

"HOW did you not get suspended?" David shook his head.

Amiri smiled, "Because we'd never say 'we're going outside to streak'. We'd always say we were going to build snowmen or have a snow ball fight."

"So the dorm people didn't know what you were doing?" Nick yawned softly.

Wes shook his head. "Oh! They KNEW! They just turned a blind eye to it and pretended they didn't. I mean, it was just a harmless tradition, and they couldn't suspend ALL those kids, could they?"

Amiri nodded, "So we got away with it. Well...at least we did until..."

"Until what?" Isabella whispered, drifting off.

Amiri and Wes looked at each other and snorted, "Until one Senior got a little TOO into it...and decided to go whole hog and run around in his B-day suit!"

"Couldn't ignore THAT!" Mrs Mirren sighed, "The boy was given detention for a month...and the tradition DIED with the first use of discipline against it."

"And thus ends this story..." Wes looked around to see all the kids were now asleep, "Of Dalton's former glory."

Mrs Mirren went over and turned off the lights as she left the room. "Good night boys."

"Good night Mrs Mirren." Amiri and Wes said as they snuggled into their makeshift beds.

The Dean shut the door behind her, and soon enough all the room's occupants...Wes and Amiri included...were deeply, peacefully, fast asleep.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this! And if you're wondering...yes. The Underwear Run is something that happens at my school. That's where I got it from. And no, I haven't done it...yet ;D**

**Goodnight my lovelies! Remember to send me your ideas for Seb's new back story. I REALLY need them!**


	28. The Early Bird Special

**Hey guys! I'm back!**

**Sorry about just suddenly dropping off the face of the earth like that. I've gone through some issues in my personal life that have kept me from being able to write for a while. I'll be ok, but it sort of killed my plot bunny. Hopefully I catch another good one soon.**

**Thank you to all of you that have sent me your V story theories. Keep them coming! I'm starting to get some ideas, but I'm not quite there yet. I still need your help!**

**Thank you to Dolphin444wssc, Eraman, MarchingbandGleek XD, and lucky333123. They have helped me a lot with all of my stories, proofreading and correcting things that don't work. I've been going back through my chapters lately and fixing things that I screwed up a long time ago, and it's really helped having another pair of eyes looking for things I've missed. So again, thank you.**

**Song Credit for this chapter:**

**"Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John**

**Without farther ado, let's get back to our story.**

* * *

Wes woke slowly the next morning. He yawned and stretched, looking around at all his little brothers. He smiled warmly seeing all of them sound asleep. He suddenly caught sight of Amiri, and had to put his hands over his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

Amiri was curled up on the floor under a mountain of blankets. He was drooling a little and snoring softly. He'd gone to sleep in an open area, but during the night, the other boys had drifted closer to him and were now basically laying on top of him. Puss was curled up on his chest, purring and sleeping soundly. The cat's tail flicked lazily in Amiri's face, but the older man was too far into sleep to notice.

Wes chuckled softly and got up. Maneuvering carefully, he made his way through the room of sleeping boys and out the door. He crept down the hall to the kitchens, intent on making some coffee for himself and the other older boys and reheating some on Nick's left over cocoa for the rest of the kids.

As he approached the kitchens, however, he smelled coffee already brewing, along with some other mouth-watering aromas he couldn't quite describe. Someone was cooking already...and cooking WELL!

Wes then heard music. It sounded like a show choir performance...an accapella group...but not from the Warblers. No...this group had girls and boys in it. Then it hit him. He grinned, knowing EXACTLY who was in the kitchens.

Peeking around the corner, his suspicions were confirmed. There in the kitchen was Sebastian, dancing and singing along to a video of the show choirs from his old school. He seemed to be cooking breakfast for all the Warblers: eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, pancakes, waffles, coffee, etc. Seb seemed in his zone here. Wes wondered if the other Warblers knew Bas could cook like this. Probably not, or else they'd be begging him for food 24/7. He smiled at the idea, while still watching his little mockingbird. He didn't want to interrupt Seb in his happy place.

Seb grooved and sang along to the video as he alternated between flipping pancakes and whisking eggs.

_"Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet_

_But they're so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets_

_Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful_

_Oh Bennie she's really keen_

_She's got electric boots a mohair suit_

_You know I read it in a magazine_

_Bennie and the Jets."_

"Pretty good, isn't he?" Came a whisper behind him. Wes whipped around to see Emanuel smiling at him.

Wes nodded. "Did you know he could do this? The cooking I mean."

Emanuel shrugged. "Ya, but not many others do. Seb doesn't exactly like to flaunt that he's a culinary prodigy."

Wes hummed softly. "So...who does know about this?"

Emanuel thought for a minute. "Well...I'm not sure exactly...but I know for a fact that there's at least me, Thad, and David. I know because I caught him in the kitchen once when I came down to get some snacks I'd stashed in the fridge for a student council meeting. After that, we made it a tradition to make breakfast together before our big games."

Wes smiled. That was sort of sweet.

Emanuel continued. "Thad knows because...well...they're roommates! It's sort of impossible for him NOT to know. Plus...Seb makes Thad breakfast in bed when he's sick." He snorted, "Ya, 'just friends' my ass..."

Wes chuckled, agreeing. "And David?"

Emanuel sighed, "Ya...that was a bad one. Owl...he passed out in Warblers one day last year. Turns out with all the stress he was under with his personal issues and school stuff...David had been skipping meals."

Wes sighed. He was unfortunately NOT surprised by this. David had a habit of forgetting to take care of himself when he got working on something. Skipping meals was usually the second thing to go, right after missing sleep and right before a neglect of personal hygiene.

Emanuel smiled softly. "So, Seb started taking it upon himself to make sure David was eating. He would make food David could carry with him and bring him meals when Owl was holed up in his room studying. One day David asked where he got the food. Seb told him that he made it himself and would be PERSONALLY insulted if David didn't eat it...which basically fixed the food problem for good."

Wes nodded, thankful Seb had taken care of the problem. Though, he had to wonder how Bas knew what to do about it. What was more...the Seb he'd seen last year was sort of an asshole. These stories he was hearing of him...they didn't seem to fit. It was obvious to Wes now that THIS was the real Sebastian. The monster of last year had been merely a mask. What could've happened to change him so drastically? More importantly...what had changed him back?

"You know I can HEAR you, right?" Sebastian yelled from the kitchen. "Viper! Wes! Quit gossiping and get your butts in here!"

Wes hissed, "Oops! Busted!"

"Me gossip? Never." Viper grin innocently.

Wes rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen.

Bas paused his video and turned to look at them. He smiled shyly. "So...how much EXACTLY did you see?"

Wes chuckled "Not a lot, but enough."

_"B-B-B-Benie and the Jets!"_ Emanuel sang teasingly.

Sebastian scoffed and chucked a dish cloth at him. "Viper, sweetheart, I love you. But PLEASE stop singing. We've talked about this. There is a reason you're not a Warbler and THAT is precisely it. Every time you sing, a little part of my soul DIES!"

Emanuel clapped a hand to his chest, mellow dramatically pretending to be offended, "WHAT?! How DARE you! I thought I sung that rather well!"

Seb snorted, taking a finished batch of pancakes off the griddle, "Darling, your voice is the reason there are mute buttons is on remote controls. The reason earplugs were invented. The reason student council no longer has karaoke nights..."

"Line!" Viper called, "Toeing the line there, Bas!"

Seb nodded. "Right...sorry. I guess that last one was a little low..."

"A little low?!" Emanuel gaped, "Good God man! Point a machete at my manhood why don't you!"

The two looked at each other, and it took exactly 4 seconds before they both cracked up.

Wes shook his head, not sure what to make of their banter. It seemed snarky, yet friendly. So, for now he'd let it be.

A timer dinged loudly. Seb smiled and pulled on some oven mitts. "Muffins are done!"

Emanuel grinned. "What kind?"

Seb smirked. "Lemon poppy-seed and Banana Chocolate Chip."

Wes hummed softly, "Is there a reason you're doing all this?"

Seb shrugged as he pulled the muffin trays from the oven. "I don't know. Just felt like it. Cooking and baking have sort of just always been my thing."

Wes cocked his head, "Really? Why? No offense Bas, but I'd never have seen you as being into something so...domestic!"

Seb snorted as he put the muffins on the cooling rack, "Well, as I said last night, my dad is basically useless in the kitchen. Mom lives in France most of the time, so she can't exactly be the one to make dinner for us all." He sighed and pulled off his oven mitts, "My Aunt Lydia, Ella's mom, was the one who first taught me to cook. We use to go over to her and Uncle Peter's house almost every night for dinner when I was little. But...then she died...and Ella came to live with my dad and me...and someone else had to be in charge of that sort of thing. Dad hired a cook...but it just wasn't the same. Then one day I got into the kitchen and made SOMETHING...to this day I don't remember what it was...but it must have been pretty good. When the cook caught me, instead of punishing me, she asked if I wanted to be her little helper. And the rest was history."

"So...it's something familiar." Wes said softly, starting to understand, "Something...stable. Something you can get lost in it and have fun with it and...forget all the stuff going on around you. Something you KNOW you're good at."

Seb smiled sadly and nodded, "Ya...basically that's it. Not exactly...but you've got the basics. I just...I like it! I can relax when I'm doing it. I don't have to focus on anything other than what I'm doing if I don't want to, but I also know what I'm doing well enough that it can just be a mindless task to get lost in while I let my mind wander." He smirked, "And what's more, I get a kick out of the faces people make when they eat my stuff. Like you said, they're not expecting it from me...and then it's ORGASMICALLY good."

Wes laughed and shook his head, "You couldn't possibly have found a different word to describe it?!"

Seb pretended to think a moment before shaking his head, "Nope!"

Emanuel grinned, "Good cooking is a lot like good sex..."

Seb wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Don't I know it!"

Wes gagged softly, "Ok! Now I'm afraid to try anything you've made!"

Seb laughed, "Oh lighten up Wes! You know what we meant!"

"Actually, I'm not sure I do." Wes frowned.

Emanuel rolled his eyes, "Eating really good food can have the same effects as having really good sex because it activates the same areas of the brain and releases the same types and amounts of chemicals and hormones and endorphins."

Wes cocked an eyebrow, "And you know this...how?"

"THAT you might not wanna know." Seb chuckled.

Emanuel glared softly at Sebastian, "Oh don't make it sound all dirty Bas..." He looked back to Wes, "I did a research project on Neuroscience for an extra credit assignment."

Seb pouted comically, "Must you always ruin my fun?"

"Oh go suck a lemon!" Emanuel snorted.

"It's you who likes to do that, not me." Seb said, "Besides, I used all of them to make my delicious muffins, which you will no longer be invited to have any of!"

"Go ahead," Viper shrugged, "You know I prefer sandwiches."

Wes laughed loudly, "Ok! I can totally see why you guys are friends!"

Seb smirked, "Ya. Emanuel is one of the few people at Dalton who is immune to my bitch-craft."

Emanuel laughed, "And Seb is one of the few people I've ever met that can keep up with my impeccably quick wit."

"And you BOTH keep the other in line." Wes smiled.

The boys nodded. That was true, though it was usually more Emanuel keeping Seb from going too far than the other way around.

"Oh!" Seb said suddenly, "And speaking of your love of breakfast sandwiches, Viper." He gestured to a paper bag on the counter with a travel mug next to it, "Made you a grab-and-go to take to your meeting this morning. I think we've learned from last time...and the time before that..."

"Shut up!" Emanuel went scarlet, "We SWORE never to speak of that again!"

"YOU swore." Seb smirked "I said nothing."

Wes was confused. "What happened?"

"Don't you DARE..." Viper warned Seb softly.

Sebastian grinned wickedly, "Emanuel has this big urban improvement project he's been working on. Early last month, he was set to present the base line plans to the city council in a morning meeting. He got so stressed and rushed that all he had for breakfast was a granola bar. Which was fine...until he was in the middle of his presentation and his stomach growled so loud that his microphone picked it up."

"It echoed..." Emanuel muttered, embarrassed.

Seb smiled softly, "Flash forward to the next meeting about this project. Determined NOT to have a repeat, Viper had an actual breakfast before going. However, again being stressed and rushed, he ate WAY too fast and got an upset tummy."

Wes hissed, "Wow...that stinks."

Viper groaned, "It was mortifying..."

Seb chuckled and gestured to the bag and mug again. "Which is why I made you something to take with you. And don't worry. I remember that you hate coffee. I heated up some of the hot cocoa Nick made last night and put it in the travel mug."

Emanuel sighed, but smiled. "Thanks...mom."

This comment got another dishcloth chucked at his head.

Wes laughed, "Want me to get the others?"

Seb nodded, "Ya. That'd be great."

Viper frowned, "But I thought you HATED people knowing you cook?"

Seb sighed, shrugging. "I have a lot of secrets. Things I'm not ready to talk about. And the Warblers have been amazing about respecting that. I feel like I owe it to them to open up a bit and share something about myself. This...this is something I feel ready to share."

Wes smiled. "Good for you Bas."

Seb nodded, "Thanks. Now go wake the Warblers before their breakfast gets cold."

Wes chuckled and left to go roust the nest.

* * *

**There you go my darlings! Hope you liked a little fluff for a change!**

**Oh! And before I forget, I have BIG NEWS! Eraman has given me explicit permission to write a sequel to one of her stories, "What Brothers Are For". Granted, it's not likely to be up anytime soon, but I thought you'd all like to know that I will be doing that sometime in the future and have begun work on it.**

**Until next time my lovelies, I bid you farewell!  
**


	29. The Breakfast Nest

**Hey Guys! I'm back again!**

**Thank you all for the love you've given me. I've gone through a bit of a rough patch lately, and you guy reviewing and favoriting and following me makes me feel so much better! So again THANK YOU!**

**Also, I have BIG EXCITING NEWS in my personal life that I just HAVE to share with you all! As some of you know, I am currently a senior in High school...which is part of the reason I've been so stressed out lately :P Anyway, last month, I applied to 4 FABULOUS colleges on early action. Flash forward to a few days ago, when I got a letter in the mail. I'M IN! I've officially been accepted to one of my colleges! What's more, I have been offered THE DEAN'S SCHOLARSHIP! I am so excited right now! **

**Also, as I said at the end of my last chapter, Eraman has given me permission to write a sequel for her story "What Brother's Are For.". I have the first few chapters written and ready for upload, but there is one small problem...the story has no title. If any of you have any ideas, feel free to share them. The faster I find a title, the sooner I can get the story up for you all to enjoy!**

**Now, without farther ado, let's check back in with our FAVORITE boys!**

* * *

The boys were woken up and brought down to the kitchens. Emanuel had left with his packed breakfast. When they all got down there, Amiri and Wes helped set the table for all the boys. The warblers who hadn't know about Seb's cooking talents were rather surprised. Those who did were glad Seb was finally sharing his gifts.

"Oh my god!" Nick moaned in pleasure, "Where did you get the recipe for these poppy-seed muffins!?"

Seb smiled fondly, "Friend of mine at my old school heard on the internet that if you eat enough poppy-seed, it'll show up on a drug test. She wanted to try it. Asked me to help her make a bunch of poppy-seed stuff for an experiment."

"Did it work?" Jeff asked

Sebastian laughed, "No. Carter made her call it off before she ever actually tried it. But when we passed out the goods to the rest of the school...we got basically the same reaction Nick just gave."

"And we have never seen this before because..." Trent prompted.

Seb sighed, "Because I knew you'd all start pestering me for food. And...I was a little embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Lincoln asked, "Why?"

"Because cooking is seen as domestic." Amiri said, "And the way that Seb shields himself is with his playboy, sleep-around, don't-really-give-a-crap, diva-bitch persona. Without that...he's vulnerable." He looked to Bas, "Am I right Bas?"

Sebastian nodded, "Ya. Pretty much."

Andy looked to Thad, "So you and David knew about this?"

Thad nodded. "Yup. Seb's my roommate. Sort of impossible for me not to know."

Seb smirked, "Plus I cook for you when you're sick. Because you get so cute and helpless and..."

Seb was silenced as Thad shoved a muffin in his mouth. "Oh hush you!"

Seb bit into the muffin, chewed, and swallowed. He smirked. "Wow...I AM good!"

"Oh god!" Isabella giggled, "I think you LITERALLY just fed his ego!"

The warblers all laughed...except for David, who was nose deep in a textbook.

"David!" Seb snapped at him, "You haven't even TOUCHED your pancakes! Put down the calculus and intake some calories before I make you a literal egghead!"

David looked up in horror. "You WOULDN'T!"

Seb cocked an eyebrow and lifted the carton, "Wanna test that hypothesis? No? Then EAT! NOW!"

David put the book down hurriedly and dug into his food.

Thad laughed. "And THAT is why David knows! After he fainted last year in Warblers, Seb made sure he ate."

Wes smiled and winked at Bas. "Thanks for that by the way."

Seb nodded. "No problem."

The door to the kitchen opened and the dean walked in. "Morning all."

"Good morning Mrs Mirren." The boys chorused.

The Dean smiled and went over to Sebastian. "Ah! Mr. Smythe! Lovely to see you're cooking again. I've heard only grand things from your father and cousin."

Seb blushed a deep pink. "Thank you ma'am. Would you like some coffee and a muffin?"

"That would be delightful. Thank you." She nodded.

Seb nodded and poured her a cup of freshly brewed coffee. "How do you like it? Black? Cream? Sugar? Both?"

"Milk and a pinch of sugar, thank you." The Dean nodded.

Seb did as she requested and handed her the mug. "Here you are! And for muffins we have Banana Chocolate Chip and Lemon poppy-seed. I have a batch of pumpkin in the oven right now."

"Banana Chocolate Chip sound delicious." She smiled, picking up. "One of your cousin's favorites, am I right?"

Seb smiled fondly. "Yes. She loves both the lemon poppy-seed and the banana chocolate chip. I guess that's why they're my go to recipes. I make them so much for her, it's sort of a no brainer."

"Where'd you get THAT recipe?" Nick asked.

Seb cleared his throat awkwardly. "I...um...it... was my Aunt Lydia's recipe. She...she taught me how to make them...before she..."

"CHANGE OF SUBJECT!" Jeff called out, seeing Seb getting uncomfortable, "Is there anything you CAN'T make?"

Seb smiled thankfully, "Quite a few things actually. I'm not a master chef...yet. For one thing, despite the fact I make it all the time, I doubt I have the skills with hot chocolate that Nick does."

Nick smirked, "Nice to know I'm still needed."

Seb smiled back, "You will ALWAYS be needed Nicky." He sighed contentedly, "Anyway, I've also had my souffles sabotaged the last couple times I've tried to make them. They are NOT kidding with the whole 'no loud noises' thing."

Many of the boys blushed and muttered apologies.

Seb chuckled, "And the last time I tried to make a crème brûlée...it ended badly."

"But that's a french desert!" Andy gaped, "And you're french!"

"Doesn't mean it's not still hard as hell to make it!" Seb snorted. "And it wasn't the dish itself that went wrong...it was the fact I asked Storchie to help me..."

"THE PYROMANIAC!?" Thad cried, "You asked the girl at your old school who likes to play with fire to help you make crème brûlée?!"

"As I said, giving HER a blow torch was PROBABLY not my best life choice." Seb laughed, "But no one got hurt and it was sort of funny to watch Carter flip out."

"Oh dear god..." Wes groaned, "You sound like NIFF!"

"Hey!" Nick protested, "We resent that remark!"

"Ya!" Jeff nodded, "We may be pranksters, but we haven't blown anything up!"

"Recently..." Isabella muttered.

"EVER!" Niff chorused.

"Yet!" Mrs Mirren jumped in, "But admit it boys: Given the chance, you would try it."

Neither Nick nor Jeff could deny that.

"And I never said the kitchen blew up." Seb said as he pulled the pumpkin muffins from the oven. "There is a distinct difference between flaming and exploding."

"Let me guess...Storchie taught you that?" Thad cocked an eyebrow.

Seb blushed, "Guilty as charged."

The boys all laughed.

Wes sighed and looked to the Dean, "Is there a reason you came down madam?"

Judy Mirren smiled, "A few actually. Mainly I just wanted to see how you boys were doing after the fire fiasco last night."

"We're fine ma'am." Trent nodded, "Slept rather well actually, after the story Wes told."

The Dean nodded, "That's good." She looked to her niece, sitting next to Lincoln, "Did you have a good time Isabella?"

Ducky nodded, "Yes Aunt Judy. The boys are really fun to be with."

Mrs Mirren smiled, "I can imagine. My Dalton boys are nothing but gentlemen."

"Except when Lincoln farts in his sleep." Andy groaned.

"It's a natural bodily function!" Lincoln declared, turning a deep scarlet.

Isabella laughed. "It's ok Linc. No need to get so flustered." She reached down and took his hand, patting it gently in comfort.

Lincoln grumbled something under his breath, but seemed happy now that Ducky was holding his hand.

The Warblers all exchanged looks. Yup! Definitely a couple starting. They just hoped it wouldn't take as long as Klaine did to wake up to their feelings.

Mrs Mirren cleared her throat. "As I was saying, there was another reason I came down here."

That got the Warblers full attention. Was something wrong?

Mrs Mirren continued, "As some of you may know, Hunter fled campus last night. He is no longer at Dalton."

The boys all cheered loudly. At last, the monster was gone!

Mrs Mirren smiled, letting them have their moment to celebrate.

Wes whistled to get their attention, "Hold on a minute!" He looked to Mrs Mirren, "I assume there is a BUT coming?"

Judy smiled brighter, "Actually no. There isn't, at least for now. There is more, but it's an 'also'."

"I think I know where this is headed...and I like it!" Amiri smirked.

Mrs Mirren beamed, "As I've told Amiri and briefly mentioned to Wes in passing, the whole scandal of what Hunter did and who he was had kept students from coming to our school and had made quite a few leave. After he left last night, the news of his expulsion spread through the underground and this morning I will be going through applications for student transfers and re-admittance. Some students are already accepted and will be starting early this week. Some will be here today and in the coming days to shadow and tour the school. And from what I've heard...there are a few of them who would like to be Warblers."

The rooms again broke into uproar. This was amazing! There would be new students coming to Dalton! Maybe some new little warblers! This was great! The boys couldn't wait to meet everyone!

They knew logically that the Hunter problem wasn't completely over. They knew that there was surely still some hardship ahead. But in that instant, if only for that moment, things for the Warblers started looking a lot brighter.

* * *

**There you go! A beautiful fluffy chapter of our favorite birds! I figured after all the hell I've put them through, they deserve to be happy for a little while. Hope you liked it.**

**Until next time my little darlings, I bid you ado!**


	30. The New Nestling

**Happy Holidays my sweets!**

**Sorry this took so long. I got busy and writer blocked and...other things I don't really want to discuss. ANY HOW, I'm here now with a LOVELY new chapter for all my little lovelies!**

**A BIG thank you to MarchingBandGleekXD for helping me co-write this chapter AND for creating the OC introduced in it. Colton is an OC completely of Scout's creation that she gave to me as a gift many months ago to use in my story. I do hope that I can do him justice in the future and THANK her again for giving me him to work with. I have SO many ideas for him, and I think Scout and all the rest of you will really like them...and him! ;D**

**ALSO! BIG NEWS! The sequel to Eraman's "What Brothers Are For" that I told you about should be up soon! I'm doing the last edits on it now and I FINALLY came up with a title that works! Thank you again to Eraman for letting me write that story and helping me make sure it doesn't stink :P Hope you guys like it once it's up!**

**Now, without farther ado, let's get on with the story.**

* * *

The boys finished breakfast and went to get ready for the day. Wes and David were walking to David's dorm room. The African-American Warbler was excited. Mrs Mirren had pulled him aside before he left and told him he was going to be getting a new roommate. A little freshman boy. Someone David could take under his wing and help settle into Dalton.

"I'm telling you Wes. It's gonna be great!" David beamed. "I'll get to be just like you!"

"Like me?" Wes asked.

"Ya! I'll get to be the mentor for a scared little kid! I'll get to help him out of his shell!" David smiled, "I'll get to do exactly what you do!"

Wes smirked. "You make me sound like a superhero or something."

"Well...you sort of are." David shrugged.

Wes shook his head. "No I'm not. I'm just a guy who wants to help people. No special abilities. I just try."

Suddenly a small figure bumped into them both and fell.

"Woah!" David said, getting up. "Sorry about that buddy. Totally didn't see you there!"

"You ok?" Wes asked, reaching to pull the boy to his feet.

The boy flinched away from Wes and ran away from them.

David and Wes looked to each other before going after him.

"How much you wanna bet THAT is my roommate?" David asked.

Wes sighed. "It's somebody's roommate. Only a new transfer kid would bolt like that."

The kid hid in one of the unlocked janitor's closet.

Wes and David pulled up in front of the closet at the same time as...

"Hello boys." Mrs Mirren sighed. "I see you've met Colton...or have tried to."

"Colton." David nodded. "So that is my roommate. I remember that's what you said his name was."

Wes wondered what could've happened to the poor kid to make him spook like that.

Colton stayed in the corner of the closet.

Mrs Mirren sighed and poked her head in. "Colton? Sweetie, can you please come out?"

Colton didn't come out, he didn't even reply to her.

Mrs Mirren felt her heart sink. "Can I come IN?"

Colton thought for a moment and nodded.

Mrs Mirren smiled sadly and went in. She sat on the floor next to the boy. "Hey Colt. What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Just got scared. I bumped into them and saw a hand come at me. I thought I was going to get hurt." Colton explained. Though it all happened fast so he probably didn't realize that Wes was trying to help him up.

Mrs Mirren couldn't help but laugh a little. "Oh sweetie. That was Wes and David. Wes was just trying to help you up. He'd never hurt a kid. And David is the boy who's going to be your roommate."

"Oh..." Colton said, feeling dumb.

Judy Mirren hugged him close. "It's ok honey. You didn't know. And after what happened to you, I don't blame you for getting spooked."

Colton nodded. "We should probably go back out there now..." Colton said.

Mrs Mirren nodded. "We should. Or if you feel better being here, we could just ask Wes and David to come in. They're waiting outside. They're worried about you."

"A-actually can we go back out?" Colton asked.

Mrs Mirren gasped. OF COURSE! How could she have forgotten! The poor child was MAJORLY claustrophobic. In his panicked flee, the only thought in his head had been 'HIDE!'. The fact he was hiding in a closet didn't register. But now that he wasn't running for his life...

She picked the child up and led him quickly out of the closet.

Colton was calm once they were out of the closet. As Mirren had said, Wes and David were waiting outside. Colton didn't say anything at first, so both boys bent down so that they were at eye level with him.

"Hey." Wes said softly, "You ok bud?"

"Sorry we spooked you." David smiled.

"I'm okay now. And it's fine." Colton replied to both of them.

Wes ruffled his hair. "That's good."

David held out his hand. "Want me to show you where our room is?"

Mrs Mirren smiled, proud of her boys.

"Sure, yeah." Colton smiled slightly, taking David's hand.

Mrs Mirren patted Colton's back. "Wes and I will go get your things and bring them up for you."

David held the boy's hand comfortingly and securely. He smiled brightly and nodded as he stood up. "Let's go then."

David and Colton walked down the hall together towards their room.

Wes smiled after David, proud to see his little Owl stepping up as a big brother warbler.

Colton thanked Mrs Mirren and left with David.

"So Colton," David said, "Tell me about yourself."

"Well what do you want to know about me?" Colton asked, not knowing where to start.

David shrugged, "Anything. We're gonna be living together."

"Well I like to play guitar." Colton said.

David smiled. "Cool!"

"I also like to play video games and read." Colton continued.

David grinned. "We are going to get along well."

Colton smiled slightly.

David opened the door as they got to their room. "So, what brings you to Dalton?"

"Um... Can we not talk about why I came here?" Colton asked.

David nodded. "Alright. Limit found. Changing direction." He walked over to the bunk bed in the room. "This room is made as a triple. I've used it as a single. I sleep in the stand alone bed, which leaves the bunk for you. You want top or bottom?"

"I can take the bottom bed." Colton said.

David nodded. "And we'll leave the top bunk for if we get another roommate...or for if we have friends who wanna sleep over."

Colton nodded.

David smiled, "Once Wes and Mirren bring your stuff, we'll get you settled in."

"Alright." Colton said.

David smiled, "And after that I can show you around."

"Okay , that sounds good.." Colton said.

David sighed and sat down on his bed. So...he'd gotten a quiet one. It seemed Colton was closed off and wanted to stay that way. That was ok though. Just meant that he'd have to work a little harder to get close to the boy. He had plenty of time for that. He looked up to see Colton settling on his bed. He smiled. Ya...he definitely had time for that.

* * *

**Meanwhile, elsewhere in Dalton...**

* * *

Wes and Mrs Mirren had gone down to retrieve Colton's things. Wes was shocked and confused to find the boys belongings were all packed in garbage bags. Did the child not have a proper suitcase?

"He's a foster kid." Mrs Mirren said, answering the question before Wes could even ask it. "His mom and dad died when he was 8 in a car accident, lost both on impact. After that he was sent to a foster home and has been in one ever since, he's moved a lot from home to home so he's used to moving."

Wes frowned, "Why would his parents not get him a proper suitcase?"

Judy Mirren rolled her eyes, "Well, the others were all slime-balls who didn't really care about the kid enough to invest in one for him." She smiled softly, "The ones he's with now...I get the feeling they're hoping he doesn't move again."

Wes's eyes widened, "As in they want to adopt him?"

"Yes, but don't tell Colton." Mirren said, "He doesn't know yet, and the parents want to talk to him about it themselves."

Wes nodded. "My lips are sealed!"

Mrs Mirren smiled, but something in her eyes was sad.

Wes saw this. "Is something wrong madam?"

"Wes...I need you to promise me something." Mrs Mirren said.

"Anything." Wes piped up quickly.

"You and David and the other Warblers...you need to keep an extra close eye on Colton." Judy spoke firmly.

Wes was confused. "Of course madam...but why?"

She looked at him, "It's not really my place to tell most people but...his parents have heard of you, and YOU have permission to know the basics. Just swear to me that it will not be shared with any others?"

"Cross my heart." Wes agreed, "On my Warbler Honor."

The Dean nodded, then sighed, "He never had a good childhood. At school he was bullied a lot for being a foster child and...one time at school he was...mistreated...by a teacher. THAT is why he was sent here. Because of all the problems he's had in the past, he has anxiety and trust issues and sleeping problems. He gets a lot of nightmares and night terrors which is one reason he has sleeping problems. He's shy and quiet at first but once you really get to know him he can be sweet, and really funny too. He's a very secretive person and he has a hard time expressing his feelings, like if he's sad or angry. It's hard for him to trust people at first...for obvious reasons. He's also VERY claustrophobic."

Wes was silent. He didn't know what to say to that. That poor kid! Poor little broken bird! He'd DEFINITELY have to keep an eye on him. The boy would need some help. He'd let David do most of it, as he was the boy's roommate and "mentor", but Wes would be there as a backup.

As he and Mrs Mirren got in the elevator with Colton's things, Wes realized something. He and the other warblers had thought the hurt was over when Hunter left and that all that would need to be done was healing from the damage caused inside their walls. But now he saw the truth. There were other evils out there besides Hunter. Some more minor than the drill sergeant dip wad, some more severe. Dalton was becoming a safe haven again, and more little broken birds hurt by those other evils were flocking to shelter here. And as long as they nested under this roof, they were Dalton's responsibility to keep protected and taken care of. They had been victorious in the first battles, but there was still a long war to come. And Wes intended to see it through till they had won!

* * *

**Hope you liked this! Stay tuned for more in the future. Can't promise when it'll be, but I'll do it. Also, if any of you have ideas for this story or any of the others, please feel free to tell me. I've got perpetually writer's blocked lately, and you're ideas really help! Also, if you like one of my stories that hasn't been updated in a while, review on it or favorite/follow it so I know what's popular and needs some TLC**

**Until next time my sweet babies, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	31. Cat-astrophe Strikes

**I AM NOT DEAD! I AM BACK FROM THE ABYSS OF THE ADULT WORLD AND RETURNING TO YOU!**

**I am so thankful and happy to all my loyal fans that have stuck with me through this EPIC Hiatus. Those who didn't, it's ok. I would've abandoned hope by now too. And to all my new little darlings, HI THERE! Hope you like!**

**2 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENTS BEFORE WE START!**

**1) I have gone through all my old chapters and made some changes. some are minor, and others are more significant. All were made to better fit my evolved vision for the story and it's plotline and to make it a better story over all. If you have the time, I would suggest you go back a re-read the story (Which a lot of you are probably gonna to away so you can remind yourself what's happened). I have NOT changed any of the authors notes, as I know most people don't read them anyway so I didn't feel it was worth the effort. If you wanna re-read faster, just skip authors notes.**

**2) I promised you an EPICALLY long time ago I would upload an Eraman Authorizes sequel to her story "What Brothers are For". Well, the first few chapters are done and will be uploaded within a week or so. And I finally have name for the story: "That's What Friends Are For". If you wanna read my story, head on over to Eraman's page and read WBAF (If you haven't already), as it is an AWESOME story, and my sequel will make NO sense without it!**

**And Now...without ANY father ado...our story.**

* * *

While Wes and David were helping Colton settle in, Sebastian and Thad were removing the last of Hunter's shit from the room Seb had shared with the monster. Now that the ex-captain was gone, it was safe for Seb to return to the room. Whats more, Thad would also be moving back in. Mirren had approved the move herself, citing that Thad should never have been forced out of the room in the first place. What she didn't tell Sebastian or Thad was that she'd been in contact with Thad's cardiologist earlier in the week, and it had been decided that the rapid and extreme changes in temperature from Thad's busted heater could be hazardous to Thad's health. It was a safety issue for him to remain in that room. The Warblers would come by later to help move Seb and Thad's stuff.

"How amazing is it gonna be to be roommates again?" Sebastian smirked.

"It'll...be great!" Thad huffed, lifting the bag of cat food and carrying it towards the door. After Seb had discovered the empty book of rat poison in the waste basket, it hadn't taken a genius to realize what Hunter had done. Amiri had taken Trent to the nearby pet store to buy more, as well as replacement supplies for all the other things Hunter had destroyed.

Seb sighed, "I count myself grateful that Hunter didn't screw with any of my stuff that was still in here during his little temper tantrum."

"Ya...totally...a miracle." Thad gasped out.

Seb frowned, turning around, "Hey! Are you ok? You sound...GOLDIE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He shrieked and ran over as the bag slipped from Thad's hands. He caught it, and then promptly dropping it to the floor and rushing to his friend's side, not noticing or caring as the bag tipped over onto the floor. He was focused solely on how scary red Thad's face had gotten and the way his breath came in wheezes. "Thad! What the hell were you thinking?! You shouldn't strain yourself like that!"

"I'm...fine Bas." Thad soothed, slowly regaining his breath, "I'm not...as weak as I was...this summer."

"NOT the point, moron!" Seb snapped, " That's basically a BRAND NEW BAG! It takes two people...or one Hunter...to lift it! And you shouldn't be doing it at all! You may be stronger than this summer, but you're STILL on the mend! I'm all for pushing your limits a little, but for christ's sake, be REASONABLE about it! We don't know what sort of effect the steroid use had on your recovery yet. Maybe it somehow HELPED and made you stronger, or maybe it royally screwed you over and you actually ARE as weak as you were this summer! I don't want to risk you going into cardiac arrest in front of me to find out!"

Thad sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just...I HATE being this helpless and weak! I HATE being puppy-dog guarded and worried over endlessly! I mean, I get people being worried within reason, but after a while, it gets exhausting and annoying! THAT is why I made you and David SWEAR not to tell a soul. I didn't want all the warblers to look at me funny. I made you captain not just to bench myself, but to be sure no one else benched me completely. I still wanted to be a warbler, but if ANYONE knew that I was as sick as I was, they wouldn't have let me even be in that room!"

"That's not true." Seb defended, "The boys wouldn't have kicked you out over something you couldn't help! They love you! Warblers are a family!"

"Exactly!" Thad cried, "THEY ARE my family! That's why I wanted to stay and why I felt I couldn't tell them. It's BECAUSE they love me that they would've been weird about me being a warbler. They'd feel the need to protect me to the point where they WOULD have tried to make me quit, because they LOVE me and don't want to see me get hurt. They mean well, but they go too far! I mean, look at what happened with you! The MINUTE we got home from seeing you, they went to the kitchen to dispose of all nut related products! For your welcome back party, they spent 3 HOURS making sure nothing on the snack table had a nut in it. They mean well, but..."

"They are warblers," Seb finished, "which means going above and beyond for your fellow students."

Thad nodded "But sometimes 'above and beyond' goes too far. I guarantee if they'd known what was going on, even if they didn't try to talk me into leaving Warblers, I'd have been relegated to sitting silently in a plush chair, watching and taking notes, forbidden to stand up or sing with them for fear I'd strain myself. Outside practice, I'd have had someone carrying my stuff to every class, someone getting my food for me at lunch and making sure it was the 'healthiest thing there', someone coming to my room in the morning to help me get ready, someone carrying ME up the stairs, someone following me to the bathroom...IT WOULD NEVER END! And I would HATE every second of it! I HATE being looked at and treated like I'm invalid!"

Seb frowned, "Goldie...you ended up sitting at the council table most of the time anyway, doing EXACTLY what you just described...I mean, you still sang with us, but whenever you looked tired, David and I made you stop. And...all those other things...I don't know about David, but I know I'VE done all of them before..."

"THAT is different," Thad said quickly, "I am ok with YOU fussing over me because you've taken the time to try to understand what's actually happening. It's like you said earlier. You're ok with my pushing my limits within reason. You only made me sit in Warblers when I NEEDED to. You still let me try. And when you did make me sit, you made EVERYONE sit so that I wasn't singled out. You carried my stuff for me when necessary, but let me do it myself when I could. You got my food for me at lunch when I was sick in the room or OBVIOUSLY too tired, and you made sure EVERYONE was eating healthy, not just me. You didn't have to come to my room because you were already there, and we helped each other get ready, so it was equal. I'll admit you following me to the bathroom was a little far, but I understand it was just that you were worried, and when I asked you to stop, you did. Anytime I say I can handle something, you usually back off, unless you know I'm pushing myself too far, like just now with the cat food. You're my BEST FRIEND Bas! I'd be insulted if you DIDN'T worry about me...but you know when enough is enough."

Seb nodded, "Ok. So...that's why you were so upset about Hunter blackmailing you with your med history? Because you didn't want to be seen as weak by the other Warblers?"

Thad nodded, "Ya, pretty much...but it was more than that. He used my fear of being seen as helpless to actually MAKE ME helpless. He used it to hold power over me. It was a Kobayashi Maru*****. Letting him blackmail me made me weak and under his control, powerless to stop him from hurting anyone. I HAD to do what he said! With him there, I REALLY couldn't leave! I couldn't just walk away like Trent did. The boys needed me, and I'd be DAMNED if I abandoned them! But...if I stood up to him, and the info got out...the warblers might be mad at me that I'd lied to them or feel like they couldn't trust me. I NEEDED them to trust me. And, even if they weren't mad, they'd still have tried to protect me...and it wouldn't just have been annoying anymore. It would've been DANGEROUS! Jeff got his ankle snapped in the first week of practices because he got between Nick and Hunter. Nick got his hand shattered for back-sassing Hunter in defense of Jeff. YOU told Hunter no...and we both know where that led. If the Warblers knew, they'd have jump to my defense and sacrificed themselves to Hunter's wrath in order to try to save me. I...I couldn't handle that. I NEVER want one of my friends...one of my BROTHERS...to get hurt because of me."

Seb sighed, "I get it...I do...but it like Ella told me last night. They have to find out at some point, Thaddie. For your safety's sake. And the longer you wait, the worse it will be. You're right to compare it to my nut allergy. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't wanna be babied. When they found out, they did go overboard. But they only did that BECAUSE I ALMOST DIED! They were trying to make sure that never happened again. They got scared because they didn't understand what the heck in a handbag was happening to me, BECAUSE I NEVER TOLD THEM! If something like that happened to you, you bet your ass they'd be on you like flies on a donkey's ass, and I'd be with them! Boundaries be damned, I would have you on bed-rest, rolling around in that god forsaken wheelchair, eating only the cardio friendly food I made you...I'd make Hummel's heart health tirade on his father look like NOTHING!"

Thad chuckled, "I don't doubt you would. Ok. I will tell them...eventually. Not yet though. I'll wait till all this shit dies down."

"No!" Seb groaned, "you always do this Thaddie! You put off saying what's most important to you until it's almost too late because you get all up in your head about what people will say. One day, you're gonna wait too long before you say what needs to be said and it's gonna be too late, and then your gonna regret it"

Thad was speechless. He simply nodded. He hated to admit it...but Bas was right. Thad over thought everything. He needed to act more...but he was scared. He wished he wasn't so scared. If he had the guts to tell the warblers the truth, Hunter would've had one less thing on him, and if he REALLY had the balls to say what he meant, he would lean forward right now and kiss Seb right on the mouth. He needed to buck up. He decided to go for it. "You're right." He gulped, "I need to say what needs to be said...before it's too late." He leaned forward toward Sebastian "I have something really important to tell you and it can't wait another minute"

Seb frowned worried "what is it?!"

Thad closed his eyes and took a breath "Sebastian..." He opened his eyes and looked just past Seb's shoulder...and he saw something that he swore literally made his heart stop. The words 'I think I love you' died on his lips and were instantly wiped from his brain. "Oh god! SEBBY!"

"What is it Thad!?" Seb said, trying to force Thad to look at him, "what's the matter?"

"Puss..." Thad gasped, staring straight past him.

Seb turned around and saw the cat sitting behind him. He didn't understand what had scared Thad so bad...until he saw the contents of the overturned bag spilled across the floor. He froze, in shock, denying reality until he heard Thad screaming the awful truth behind him.

"He...oh god! Seb! HE ATE THE POISON CAT FOOD!"

* * *

*** Anyone who can correctly define this term and say what it's a reference to gets a special shout out in a future chapter**

**And there you have it my lovelies! So glad to be back! Until next time...**


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